What's Love?
by Jasminta Blossom
Summary: A year before Child Swap, Verona was in chaos. Rosaline, a so-called sworn virgin and Romeo's current crush, found herself falling for Verona's resident bad boy, Tybalt. Throw into the mix a father she's never met and a bratty half-brother, and what happens next? An installment of the Child Swap series.
1. Ros And Tibby

Happy New Year!

I'm kicking off the New Year with a brand new story for you all. It's a prequel to Child Swap, describing many of the events described by the characters that had happened in their past.

It is also a modern day version of the Untold Tale of Tybalt and Rosaline. I'm sorry, but it wasn't my best work, and so I'm not going to be continuing that. Instead I am working on this now. I am also writing a sequel to A Long Year's Nightmare, which I probably won't post until this is complete, and I'm kind of pushing to have it finished by March, which is when I began posting Child Swap. Wow, it certainly has been some year!

That being said, please enjoy What's Love?

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><p>Rosaline lay on her back, staring up at the sky. It was cloudy, not usual for the time of year. The air was crisp, but fresh. Her companion, a tall ginger boy, lay by her side. It was late afternoon, and they were both spending it in each other's company in this secluded part of Verona's park. It was chilly – it was still late February and so Rosaline was wearing a coat over her blouse and school skirt. Tybalt simply wore a hoodie.<p>

"Tibby" said Rosaline, using the name that he only permitted her, his mother and his closest cousin to call him "When do you think we should start heading home?"

"Home?" Tybalt repeated. He liked it here just as much as she did.

"Yes. Home. I was just thinking, since it's starting to get dark and you know what it's like where I live"

"I'll beat anyone up if they so much as look at you" growled Tybalt. Rosaline sighed and rolled her eyes. He was so protective of her sometimes. As much as she secretly liked it when her friend acted protectively of her, she couldn't help but worry. He was going to get into trouble one of these days. Especially the way he carried on about...

"The Montagues" snarled Tybalt.

"Where?" panicked Rosaline.

"Other there" Tybalt pointed towards the trees.

"Who's there?"

"The usual. Mercutio, Benvolio, Romeo and their chums"

"Don't do anything..." Rosaline trailed off.

"I wasn't going to" answered Tybalt "Come on, I'll walk you home"

The couple clamoured up. Tybalt helped Rosaline to her feet, and then they began to walk away. Rosaline looked over, and noticed Tybalt shaking, trying to stop himself rushing off to fight them. A sense of pride overcame her. Tybalt had never been good with his temper.

"We'll go this way-" Tybalt started to say, but then he broke off. Rosaline listened, and then they heard that all too familiar, all too irritating, sing-song voice.

"When he was two, he-" the voice broke off to explode into a fit of giggles.

"Tell us, Hermia! Tell us!" begged the crowd of Montagues.

"He toddled all the way past your lot, past the Lancely's, past the Fulgencio's, all the way up to the Prince and said 'Your trousers are on back to front!'"

In a blink of a second, Tybalt had twisted around and was storming away from Rosaline, straight over to the Montagues.

"No..." groaned Rosaline.

"Hermia!" he roared. Hermia, the black sheep of the Capulet family, turned, her short red hair loose and askew under a Burberry cap, that actually belonged to Tybalt. Rosaline immediately recognised it as a gift from his eccentric mother. That wasn't the only item of clothing she wore that belonged to Tybalt. Rosaline recognised his tracksuit, trainers and bling. Hermia grinned as she watched Tybalt look at her bizarre outfit.

"Those are my clothes! And my hat! My mum gave me that!" Tybalt roared as he stormed up to them.

"She looks rather sexy!" cried Mercutio.

"No!" Tybalt yelled "How dare you steal my clothes!"

"Oh, but Tybalt, you know how important it is to share!"

Tybalt was lost for words. Rosaline knew the pattern so well. Someone or something would offend him. He would argue his point until they out-witted him, and he didn't know what to say. Then he stood still, lights flashing behind his hostile grey eyes, until he either let go, and charged at the enemy, or thought of something else to yell at them about. He was at the stage where his eyes flashed.

"You're a badly behaved, cheap, loose, promiscuous-"

"Tell me something I don't know, Tybalt" sang Hermia.

"Right" snapped Tybalt "I'm going to talk Rosaline home. Then I'm taking you to Uncle Egues, and he will punish you. Understand?"

"No. Could you say it all again please?"

The Montagues all laughed at Tybalt and the cycle began again.

"I don't think she is funny. Do you think she is funny, Rosaline?"

Rosaline shook her head "Let's go, Tybalt. It is getting dark. Let's leave Hermia here to humiliate herself"

Tybalt glared in Mercutio's company "I am going to make sure Hermia never hangs out with you ever again!"

"Tybalt" Rosaline warned.

"Yes, that's right. Off to Rosaline. What is she, your mother?" mocked Mercutio. It was Hermia's turn to laugh at his jokes. All of a sudden, Tybalt twisted around and grabbed Mercutio by his shoulders.

"How dare you insult me! How dare you abduct and hang out with my girl cousins!" Mercutio was shaken for every syllable Tybalt yelled.

"I don't see any girls from your family...apart from you" Hermia sniggered.

"She's a boy!" giggled one of the younger lads.

"Cleverly observed, Haroldo"

"Tibby, let's just go" begged Rosaline.

"TIBBY!" the Montagues roared with laughter "What a stupid name! Is that what she calls you! Tibby!"

"Tibby darling!" shrieked Hermia in a high-pitched voice, that was meant to imitate Rosaline's. Tybalt dropped Mercutio, who crumpled to the floor, and grabbed Hermia by the waist, slinging her over his shoulder. Hermia meowed in protest, Tybalt's hat falling off her head. Tybalt stormed away, as Rosaline followed in his wake. The Montagues jeered and shouted after them, but Tybalt ignored them, his jaw set defiantly.

They set off.


	2. Rosaline's Home

Oreoskidz - I LOVE YOU TOO.

Welcome to chapter two! So, as you can guess, it's kind of modern day Untold Tale, but I've changed bits and added scenes and such. Next chapter will have an added bit. Let me know what you think at the end of this one.

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><p>Rosaline hated her home. It was situated in a rough, rundown part of the neighbourhood, on a gungy estate. Fights, theft and murder were simply a daily occurrence. She lived with her mother, Camilla, who worked in a ladies department store, and her younger sister by two years, Livia. Camilla often took on long shifts and worked at the weekends, just to get by, so Rosaline and Livia often had the house to themselves. When they were younger, Camilla would usually send them to stay at the Capulet Manor, which was how Rosaline had got to know Tybalt. Although, after being with her Capulet relatives, Rosaline always felt a little upset and embarrassed by her background. It was nothing compared to them.<p>

By her side, Tybalt breathed heavily and angrily. Hermia had long since finished protesting, and lay slumped over Tybalt's shoulders. She looked around at the houses warily, and then glanced slyly back at Rosaline. Rosaline could tell what she was thinking. Neither of them had ever liked each other, and were always thinking of ways to get at the other. Rosaline knew Hermia was blaming her for what had happened in the park, and was probably thinking of a scheme to get back at her. Well, Rosaline would just have to get her first. Rosaline was bitchier than Hermia, and so Hermia always ended up worse off. Just as the traitorous little bastard deserved.

"Hey, Ty! Ros!" yelled a voice. The couple turned, and Hermia looked up. It was only Shiraz, one of the girls who hung out in their gang. She was dressed in a sports bra that showed off her belly and baggy tracksuit trousers. Giant, clunky, hooped earrings dangled from either side of her tight ponytail. She was wearing heavy foundation make-up and chewed gum.

Hermia grimaced disgustedly.

"You coming out for a bit?"

"We've been out" replied Rosaline "We're just going home"

"It's well only, it's only like, five" Shiraz went on.

"I have schoolwork to do" answered Rosaline "Tybalt, are you going out tonight?"

"No. I have to dump this slag back home first" retorted Tybalt.

"Oh, Ros, come out and we'll have some fun. It's way more fun when you're there"

"I have work to do. I need to get a high mark" Rosaline replied, in a firm, commanding tone. Intelligence wasn't exactly encouraged on the Burry Estate. The key method of survival was to have as many kids as possible and claim welfare for them and live off that. Unlike her friends, Rosaline wanted out, and so she worked hard at school. She very good at keeping her school life and home life separate. But there were times when they clashed. And Tybalt was involved with both of those.

"You're well boring. Why'd you want to go to school? It's shit"

"Just like your make-up application skills" Rosaline sneered. Shiraz gasped. Tybalt scowled further, and then Shiraz's dimwitted chav brain got the message. She was insulting the closest friend of Tybalt Capulet. Not only that, but on her own, Rosaline could be a scary bitch. Hermia raised her eyebrows at her, and mouthed "Run!"

Shiraz did just that. Tybalt snorted and Rosaline smirked. They continued on their way, until they reached the doorstop of Rosaline's house.

"We're here, Rosaline" said Tybalt.

"Thanks for walking me home" said Rosaline.

"Good night, Rosaline" said Tybalt.

"Good night, Tybalt. And...good night, Hermia"

Hermia did not answer, but scowled. Tybalt watched Rosaline walk up the pathway to her house and opened the door. She ignored a red shiny car that looked a little bit out of place parked outside on the pavement and disappeared inside, expecting to see her mother sitting on the sofa, doing some work she had brought home. But instead, she saw a handsome man in either his late thirties or early forties, standing in the middle of the room. Her mother stood opposite him, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

"This isn't a good place for two young girls to be growing up" he stated, looking around the room with disdain.

"If you hadn't left me penniless for that flighty teenager, then we would not be here" Camilla Oftmoro stood up straight, her eyes filled with hurt. Her mouth wobbled the way it did when she was about to weep.

Rosaline boldly took a step into the room, into the view of the stranger. They looked at each other.

He had dark hair, almost black, but with a few greys in, as if he had run a dusty comb through it. His eyes were a dark, liquid brown, and above those were a pair of tidy, dark eyebrows, in a perfect shape. On his forehead were a few, faint lines, although Rosaline knew that he had had Botox at one point as his expression resembled many of the celebrities in her magazines. His nose was straight, and his lips were tight, above a mainly jaw.

"This must be Rosaline" he said in a deep, charismatic voice. Rosaline let her eyes fall to her clothing. He was wearing the most fashionable suit one could purchase in Verona.

"Yes" answered Rosaline coldly "And what do you want?"

"And where is Livia?" he asked, his eyes turning back to Camilla. There was a scamper of feet above the ceiling and then Livia arrived downstairs. Rosaline pulled her younger sister out from the shadows, and they stood side by side. They looked similar – with golden blonde hair, ice blue eyes and the same face shape. Livia watched the man, a puzzled expression on her face. The atmosphere was tense and everyone seemed to wish someone would speak.

"They appear to have grown into fine young ladies, despite living in this, this…"

"Hovel" Rosaline finished for him. She couldn't help it. It just slipped out.

"Yes. Hovel"

"It was not my fault!" protested Camilla "I just said, you left me penniless, on the streets, pregnant, with a young child. I had to beg my sister for money, and even then I could only afford this. I had to beg for her to get Rosaline and Livia into decent schools. I had nothing!"

"Hmph!" snorted the man. He pulled out a wallet, stuffed with bank notes, and thrust a few into Rosaline's hands. Rosaline looked at the notes, and at the man. The only time she'd ever seen this much money was when Tybalt had raided someone's house "Sort yourselves out. I will be back"

He pushed past them. Rosaline stood dumbfounded, holding the money. When the door slammed, and they heard him driving away, Rosaline shoved the notes to Livia and rushed over to Camilla. She had let go and was crying.

"What is it, mum?" asked Rosaline, wrapping her arms around her gently.

"Who was that horrible bloke?" Livia questioned. Camilla grew calm enough to speak.

"That man," she said in a shaky voice "Is Angelo Fulgencio, the Deputy of Verona. He's also-" she broke off to sob a little. Rosaline patted her back gently, waiting for an explanation.

"He is also your father"


	3. Gabriel's Home

Hiya! Ok, I've made a few changes to the original chapter 3, and I'll be doing so to some more Angelo and Gabriel chapters because I want to make them more sympathetic for what I'll be posting as the next couple of chapters. Let me know if you prefer this or the original.

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><p>Gabriel pressed the button on the security gates, and they swung open. He limped (as he had exhausted himself in dance class) up the pathway, before opening the front door, and taking off his long dark coat and grey scarf. Upstairs, he changed out of his ugly school uniform into a comfortable pair of leggings and jumper. After tending to his feet, he went into the kitchen and poured himself a cappucino from the coffee machine. He eventually settled in front of the television, ready to watch his favourite programme.<p>

A few hours later, Angelo arrived home.

"I'm home!" he called. He opened the door of the living room to see his only son, slumped in front of the television, massaging his aching feet.

"Hello, Angelo" replied Gabriel.

"Hello, son"

"Did you have a lot of work?" asked Gabriel.

Angelo chewed his lip "Well, yes, but I had to take care of a personal matter as well. I'd like to talk to you later about it"

"Ok" replied Gabriel. Angelo put down his briefcase in the doorway and started to take off his scarf and coat.

"What are you watching?"

"Gossip Boy" answered Gabriel.

"That girly show again?"

"It's called Gossip Boy. It's all about a boy who spreads gossip, not a girl"

"Ok. Fair play. Now I just have to get you to admit that Match Of The Day is not a dating show"

Gabriel laughed light-heartedly, and Angelo stepped into the room after taking off his coat. He'd loosened his tie and untucked his shirt, as well as kicked off his shoes.

"Budge up"

Gabriel moved his feet away from Angelo, and he slumped down. Then Angelo frowned.

"Gabriel, what is wrong with your feet?"

"Nothing" replied Gabriel, tucking them both under him.

"Show me" commanded Angelo. Gabriel reluctantly moved his feet out. They were covered in cuts, blisters, corns, dry skin and bruises.

"Have you been dancing again?" demanded Angelo.

"Yes"

"For goodness sake, Gabriel! It's not healthy! Look at the state of them! And you're so skinny, I'm starting to get worried. You could really hurt yourself, mentally and physically, carrying on like this"

"Angelo, it's fine!"

"What if you sprain yourself? You do know there is an increased risk of osteoarthritis, and anorexia. I hope you know what you're doing"

"I do know what I'm doing!" cried Gabriel "And mine aren't that bad. Look, they're all starting to heal. The girls have much worse feet, as they always have to be en pointe. Us guys aren't usually expected to, I just chose to because I was the only boy and didn't want to be left out. They won't stay this bad, I'm fine, Angelo, I know what I'm doing"

Angelo sighed "Of course you do. You're my smart boy. My sweet boy"

Gabriel sighed, relieved.

"Have you eaten?" asked Angelo.

"Not yet. Have you?"

"Yes, I dined at a restaurant. Why haven't you eaten yet?"

"I was waiting for you" replied Gabriel.

"I hadn't realised. I thought I'd rung and told you to make something. Never mind. Would you like me to make you something?"

Gabriel glanced at his feet "Please"

"I think we have some chicken in the freezer"

"No, Angelo, no meat. I'm vegetarian now, I told you last year. I don't want to eat meat anymore"

Angelo glared at him "You need the meat. You need protein. It helps your bones grow. Especially if you insist on dancing so much"

"No, Angelo, it's cruel. I bought some quorn, and there's protein in that. I'll make it myself if you want"

"It's fine. If you want quorn, you'll get quorn"

Angelo got up, and left Gabriel with an uneasy feeling. They weren't close. It was because Angelo still liked to think of Gabriel as his little boy and expected him to take a degree in law or economics. Neither of this interested Gabriel, and he had began to voice his objections. So Gabriel and Angelo lived in a very tense atmosphere, and sometimes the silence could be cut like a knife, but there was a thin truce and an unspeaked agreement to try and respect the other and their beliefs.

It was hard, as they were both incredibly stubborn and selfish. Gabriel was girly, loved clothes, shoes, fashion, with dreams of being a dancer someday. He was also very passionate about animal rights, being a big fan of animals. Angelo, however, was a charismatic politician, and possibly one of the most powerful men in Verona. In spite of this, he was certainly a ladies man. Gabriel knew he had been married before, and had heard of a daughter, but that was all. Angelo told him he didn't need to know, and so he didn't ask. They tried to stay out of each other's private business and opinions, in case they clashed.

When the show ended, Gabriel grabbed the phone and dialled his best friend, Juno, to talk about it. Juno was his oldest and closest friend and probably the only person his age he actually liked. They'd met a few years ago when they both began secondary school, and having similar interests, had struck up a friendship.

"Why won't they just admit it?" Gabriel lamented "They are made for each other!"

"I know! It's like the writers are torturing us or something" Juno answered.

"They should totally get together. They'd be a great couple. When they scheme together, it's cute in a slightly sweet, but slightly evil way! I mean, he's an aggressive psycho who's never known love and she's a bitchy ice queen who wants people to accept all the different parts of her personality. They're like, perfect for each other!"

Angelo walked back in carrying a plate of food for Gabriel "Talking to your boyfriend?"

Gabriel placed the phone to his chest "He's my best friend, not my boyfriend. I'm not gay"

Angelo made a 'tsk' sound, and set the plate down on Gabriel's lap. He took the phone away, as Gabriel protested.

"He'll call you back" he said to Juno. The he turned to Gabriel "I have to talk to you"

"About what?" asked Gabriel "Are you sick?"

"Of course not" Angelo shook his head. Gabriel poked a piece of food with his fork, and watched Angelo talk "You know I was married to a woman before your mother?"

"Yes?"

"You aren't an only child, Gabriel"

"I kind of guessed"

"You have two sisters. Rosaline is a year older than you. She goes to the same school as you"

"You mean Rosaline Oftmoro?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

Gabriel's mind turned to Verona Grammar's Queen Bee "There's only one Rosaline"

"And you have a younger sister, Livia. She's younger than you by a few months. I'm not sure, since I was already married to your mother before I even knew that my ex wife was pregnant with her"

"You threw your wife out when she was pregnant?" gasped Gabriel.

"I didn't throw her out, she walked out" Angelo explained "I had an affair, which was how you were conceived, and then Camilla, Rosaline and Livia's mother, found out. She demanded a divorce. I had fallen for your mother by then, and we were divorced within six weeks. But the thing is, Gabriel, after last year..."

He moved closer to Gabriel, and reached to take his hand.

"I realised how short life was. You're fifteen now. I need you all in my life. Just now, I went to see Camilla and my daughters, your half-sisters. I want them in my life. And so I have given them some money and I'm going to start seeing them regularly, if that's what they want"

Hurt flickered through Gabriel's blue eyes "You knocked two women up at once?"

"I did not 'knock two women up' I fathered two different children with two different mothers at once, and then choose to be with the one I thought I loved"

Gabriel's lower lip trembled "And you're only telling me this now?"

"It hasn't been easy, son, I admit that"

"But why now? You could have kept in contact, you shouldn't have had an affair"

"For pity's sake, Gabriel, I regret a lot of the things that I've done. Don't play point the finger with me, because I could point three at you. But I don't regret my affairs, because if I'd never had them, I'd never have had yo-"

Gabriel was speechless for a few moments "Why now? You said you wanted to try and get on with me. You said you spent too much time at work. You said you'd try and make time for me, and now you want to bring two sisters I don't know, have never met, into our life?"

"Shut up, Gabriel! I need you to listen to me!"

"You don't listen to me. You don't talk to me, or look at me seriously. All you care about is your stupid job and sucking Escalus' cock all day long. I know why you want to talk to Rosaline and have a relationship all of a sudden when you can't be bothered with the kid you already have. It's because you hate me, and want to get at me! So stop pretending to be all fake and caring, and just...just..."

"I don't hate you. I find you hard to cope with and understand. None of my work colleages have sons like you!"

"And now you're attacking me for being different? What is your problem?" cried Gabriel.

"I am not attacking you for being different. I am proud of you for being an individual, but you take it too far. You could put your talents to other things, and be great, but you don't. But this isn't the point. The point is, I want you to be nice to your half-sisters, and-"

Gabriel sniffed, holding back tears. He'd always been somewhat of a crybaby. An overly dramatic, overly sensitive, crybaby. He couldn't fight like the other boys in aggresive, hateful Verona. So he had to hide it behind a bitter, manipulative, calculating exterior.

"Don't. Don't say anything. I'm going to ride my horse"


	4. Manic Depression

No reviews? I'm sad now :(

Anyway, sorry for the wait. I have two major exams on Tuesday and Wednesday and I have been revising like a mad woman.

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><p>A very different scenario greeted Tybalt when he arrived home. The lights were out, it was dark, and the curtains had not been drawn. He unlocked the door and let himself in. A cat yowled at him, and Tybalt jumped. Cursing, he slammed the door behind him.<p>

"Mum?" he called "Mum, are you all right?"

He shuffled into the living room. Regina was slumped on the sofa wearing a nightie and a dressing gown. She didn't reply to her beloved son, which made Tybalt immediately suspect something was wrong.

"Mum? What are you doing? You're not dressed!"

She still didn't reply, and so Tybalt hurried out to the kitchen where the cat food bowls were. They had remains of food. He breathed a sigh of relief. That meant this turn wasn't going to be a bad one if she could still be bothered to feed the cats. He closed the curtains, switched on the lights, and then started to clear up. Usually, Tybalt would just leave it for Regina. She didn't seem to mind. When the house resembled what Tybalt considered tidy, he went back into the living room.

"I'm about to order dinner" said Tybalt loudly, because he knew otherwise she would ignore him "What do you want? Chinese food, pizza, fish and chips, kebabs, or an Indian?"

Regina shrugged blankly.

"Ok. We're having a Chinese" decided Tybalt. He pulled the menus out from the draw "What do you want to have? Chow mein?"

"Whatever"

She was still in the mood to talk. So far so good. Tybalt decided on some food that he liked, and some that he knew his mum liked.

"Perhaps one night you could cook" suggested Tybalt "You could do my favourite, you know, Sausage Surprise!"

Even though the stuff made Tybalt feel sicker to his stomach than the idea of Mercutio naked, he knew it would cheer Regina up and make her feel somewhat better.

"Another time, Tybalt" sighed Regina.

"But you love cooking Sausage Surprise! Well...maybe you could make Cat Cake as a treat. Since it's...um...Rosaline's birthday in March. Maybe I could invite her round and you could make it for her. You like Rosaline, don't you? She's a nice girl"

"Tybalt, I just want to sit here. Stop bothering me! Go out!"

"I've been out! Mum, you've got to eat. I'm going to order dinner tonight. Why don't you go and have a wash and get changed into a clean nightie? And then we can have dinner, and you can tell me all about..." Tybalt hesitated, trying to think of something that his mum liked that didn't drive him completely potty "What the cats did today!"

Regina just rolled her eyes and sank back onto the sofa. Tybalt walked back out into the hall to order the food. He hated it when his mum acted like this. He never knew how bad it would be, how long for, what she would do this time, whether she'd end up in the hospital. She was so unpredictable, she could change any minute now. Tybalt clearly remembered her worst breakdown when he was fourteen. It had been awful, probably the worst period of his life...

With food on the way, Tybalt started cleaning up a little more. He hated cleaning. It was so stupid, as everything would just get dirty again. But when his mum was like this, it was best to keep up appearances so that no one could accuse her of having brought him up in filth.

"Hey, mum, I've ordered us the food. It'll be here soon. I got all your favourites, you know, prawn crackers and sesame prawns on toast. What do you reckon?"

"I said stop bothering me!" screamed Regina.

Much as Tybalt would have loved to have yelled back at her, and maybe thrown something, he didn't. He tried to be patient.

"Ok. Fine. You can have a think about it. I'll wait for the food"

He hated this. It was even worse when the phone rang and the prank calls started, or when the door knocked and then the giggles came out of the shrubs. He knew it was them. The Montagues. Sometimes Hermia was with them, sometimes she wasn't. He knew they liked to get at him through his mum. He hated it that Hermia had been the one to tell them all about his mum, and then give them his phone number and tell them where he lived. He dreaded each evening. He hated being in when it happened, and he hated the guilt that came when he was out and his mum was alone.

After twenty minutes, Tybalt carried through two steaming plates of Chinese food.

"Ta da! Smells good, doesn't it, mum? I'm starving. What about you?"

He placed one down in front of his mum, and then sat down in the armchair. He switched on the television, to his favourite show, The Jeremy Kyle show. Regina simply played with the end of a noodle, and Tybalt watched her precariously. For a while, she didn't eat it, and then she started to take small mouthfuls. Tybalt sighed of relief. She didn't clear her plate, she never did when she was in this mood, but at least she ate something.

"See? I told you you'd fancy it. How about...I run you a nice bath, and then you can get changed into something clean, and then you can have an early night. You always feel better after that, don't you? Tomorrow we can go out for a walk and maybe go and buy some groceries and stuff. What do you say, mum?"

Regina sighed sadly, and leant against the sofa.

"Maybe you should just go to bed" suggested Tybalt, sensing it was the easier option. He did not like having to force her to wash. He was, what, almost seventeen? It was way too awkward now. He helped Regina to her feet, guided her up the stairs, to her bedroom. He helped her into bed, and then hugged her.

"Night mum"

"You good boy, Tibby. You've always been such a good boy"


	5. A Little Windfall

Zelda12343 - Yay! You're back. I hope you enjoy the story :)

I'm on study leave because I have some exams, so I'm updating. Been working some more on a sequel (I know, I know I said I wouldn't) as well. So, I hope you like.

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><p>Rosaline woke up at her usual time, to see that Livia was already awake, as her bed was empty and the door was open a little. Rosaline wrapped herself in her silky pink dressing gown and headed downstairs. Her mum and Livia were sitting around the telephone, playing a message over and over.<p>

"What's going on?" asked Rosaline. The money sat on a coffee table in the corner of the room.

"You've got a voice message" Livia tried not to giggle.

Camilla pressed a button.

"Hi. This is Romeo. You know, um, Romeo Montague. I was just calling...to talk to Rosaline because...I wanted to talk. So, um, Rosaline, if you want to talk, you have my number. Give me a buzz, a ring, any time you like. I'm going to go now, so...bye"

Livia burst out in a fit of giggles.

"He fancies you!"

"Rosaline has a gentleman caller!" laughed Camilla.

"Urgh, just delete it at once" grimaced Rosaline disgustedly "That is so cringey. That's just embarrassing. I don't want anything to do with that Montague. Our cousins are the Capulets, for God's sake!"

"But why?" pressed Livia "He seems sweet!"

She laughed some more, so Rosaline knew she was not serious.

"He looks like a camel" she dismissed.

Livia giggled "I know why! It's because you love Tybalt!"

"Shut up! I don't love Tybalt! We're good friends, that's all! And we have the same circle of friends, you know, Kaila's brother is Sam, who's Tybalt's friend, and Shari once went out with Greg. I like him, that's all! He's a nice guy"

Camilla shook her head, laughing "Are you still seeing Orlando?"

"The fit guy?" asked Livia.

"Shut up!" blushed Rosaline "I don't know. I think he's scared off by Tybalt and his friends. I haven't seen him lately...but he'll call sometime"

"Oooh! Rosaline! You tart! You have three boyfriends!" teased Livia.

"So says you, who can't decide if she's Team Edward or Team Jacob" mocked Rosaline.

"Hey! I'm not obsessed with Twilight! I only like it a bit! If you want to see a real Twilight obsessed girl, just go round Beatrix Montague's house. Her room is covered with posters. And she loves Justin Bieber!"

"What were you doing in a Montague's house?" asked Rosaline.

"Spying. Tybalt paid me ten quid too" explained Livia.

"Oh, did he now? So you're scamming on one of my guys?"

"Girls, girls! That's enough!" Camilla laughed "You two have me in stitches. I remember when I was your age. I used to have fun. I used to wear blue eyeliner and ride on a motorbike...until everything went wrong"

"Don't worry about it, mum" said Rosaline fiercely "Who needs men? Girls! We run this motherfu-"

"No swearing in the house" said Camilla firmly.

"Sorry mum" said Rosaline. She played with a loose strand of silk on her dressing gown. It wasn't real silk. It was probably manufactured polyester. And it was from Primark. Rosaline combed her blonde hair with her fingers "So...what are we doing with the money?"

"I don't know" said Camilla, reaching for a stack of it. She played with the paper "It just seems wrong to use it...knowing where it came from"

"Maybe this is our chance" said Rosaline "Maybe he really does feel guilty. Maybe he wants to get to know us!"

"And turning up, completely out of the blue, criticising me for the best I could do under the circumstances, is the right way to do it?"

"He said he would be back" added Livia, looking at the money greedily.

"Well, I don't know" shrugged Rosaline "I've only heard of Angelo Fulgencio, the Deputy of Verona, in name. I've never seen him in person. I don't know what he's like as a father. Perhaps, perhaps he's a really good father to his other kid he has. Maybe he just didn't want to upset him"

"Rosaline, you speak sense, but you're being naive" said Camilla bluntly. Rosaline scowled. She didn't like being called naive. Being naive was for people like Juliet, who had grown up with a silver spoon stuck in her mouth. Rosaline knew what it was like to walk home from school in the dark, unsure of who was around the corner. She turned to glare at her mum, who continued "His new wife left when their new son was five. He's had ten years to make amends. Why now? What does he want? He's turned up, when you are just about to sit exams. You need to concentrate on those, not him!"

"Fine" said Rosaline "But do you know what I want to do with the money?"

"What?" asked Livia.

"Keep it" she said firmly.

"What do you mean?" asked Camilla.

"Let's spend it" said Rosaline, a glint in her eyes "On stuff he wouldn't want back. He doesn't deserve it. Let's just waste it. We deserve to treat ourselves. Now, come along, Livia. It's getting late. We have to get to school!"


	6. Verona's Belle

Zelda12343 - Yep, they did. She talks about it a bit later. Umm...as for writing romance, I don't usually intend to write romance when I start writing a story (my original stuff), it just usually creeps up on me if the characters have good chemistry. I have written a sci-fi thing where two characters fell in love when they were meant to be just friends. It's ironic, isn't it? I enjoy writing it, that's for sure.

Emy - Thank you! Since reading the play, my favourite pairing has always been Tybalt and Rosaline. Have you read the rest of my stuff? I have the two sequels to this story, and the original Untold Tale.

So, now Rosaline has finally met her father, who is she going to talk to about it? Um, about this chapter, sorry if you are Catholic or waiting until marriage, I don't mean to offend you. As I stated in ALYN, I am an atheist, but I don't mean any offense. Any opinions expressed are those of the characters, not mine. I needed to include this as to explain the whole 'Rosaline is a sworn virgin' storyline that was in the play.

Also this chapter used to be two seperate chapters, but I combined them.

* * *

><p>After a frantic morning trying to get to school on time, both sisters made it. After her maths lesson, in which her teacher did nothing but bang on at her to take maths for A Level and try to persuade her to hang out with the disgustingly creepy nerds (which was social suicide, in fact) she soon found herself in her French class. Tybalt was half-French. His father came from a French family, and his grandparents owned a farm in the countryside. He stayed with them every August. Tybalt was therefore fluent and had taught her all the swearwords eons ago.<p>

Whilst Shari and Kaila, her entourage, sat struggling and trying to copy her work, Rosaline zoomed ahead. She was lost in her work when the door banged open and a young teacher stood there.

"Excuse me, Mademoiselle Stevens, but ziz boy 'as not done 'is 'omewerk. Again! I cannot cope weth 'im, 'e ez too badly behaved"

"In trouble again, Tybalt?" snapped Mademoiselle Stevens.

"I said, my mum was sick last night, it wasn't my fault" growled Tybalt.

"I'll take him so you can get on with the rest of your class, who actually want to learn" said Mademoiselle Stevens, with a frown at Tybalt. Rosaline knew what this meant. She turned to Shari and Kaila.

"Move" she commanded.

"But, we always sit next to you!" protested the girls.

"And I want to sit next to Tibby. So move. There are two seats behind you. Get to it!" she snapped.

The girls got up, and moved before Mademoiselle Stevens caught them. When she turned to direct Tybalt to a seat, the only two seats left were next to Rosaline. Rosaline smirked at Tybalt, who smirked back.

"Go and sit next to Miss Oftmoro. Perhaps she'll set you on the right track. And get to work. Monsieur Hernandez? You can go and teach now"

"Thenk you, Mademoiselle Stevens"

Tybalt slumped down next to Rosaline.

"What now?" whispered Rosaline.

"I had to look after mum last night. She's acting up again" Tybalt whispered back. Rosaline was one of the only ones to know about Tybalt's mum's manic depression.

"Is she ok?"

"I cleared up and gave her her tablets and she seemed all right this morning. I hope it's not going to be a bad turn. I don't know what's upset her"

"Do you think it's the prank calls?" asked Rosaline. Tybalt suddenly looked furious.

"I bet it was. I'm going to effing kill Montague one of these days. Anyway. What about you?"

Rosaline rolled her eyes "You won't believe what happened last night"

"What?" asked Tybalt.

Rosaline sighed "My dad turned up"

"Your dad?"

"Yeah. My dad. You know who he is?"

"Who?"

"Only the bloody Deputy of Verona!"

"Angelo Fulgencio?" gasped Tybalt "But...I've met him! He's dead rich! And he just left you? The ****! And he has a son too. He just left you!"

"A son? My mum mentioned a kid. What's he like?"

"Trust me, you do not want to meet Gabriel Fulgencio" warned Tybalt "What happened with Angelo? What did he want? Why now? After all these years, what on earth did he want?"

"I have no idea" Rosaline shook her head "He just turned up, gave us some money, and left, after criticizing our house and the way my mum has brought us up. I just don't know..."

"What a prick" seethed Tybalt "He gave you money, after fifteen odd years of being absent whilst you and your family struggled? ****ing prick! You're worth more to me than a wad of cash!"

Rosaline recoiled. She looked into his stone grey eyes, but they were deadly serious "What did you say?"

"I said, you are worth more to me than a wad of cash. You're greatest friend I have" Tybalt lent across the table, and clasped her hand, which had been resting on her work. It tingled at his touch. Rosaline remembered when they were children, and had hugged and played, and held hands then. It felt very different now. It felt nice.

"Thanks, Tibby" said Rosaline, unsure of what to say. Tybalt tucked a strand of her golden hair behind her ear.

"That's enough over there!" snapped the teacher. Tybalt and Rosaline sprang apart and pretended to get on with their work.

"Tell me about my half-brother. What's so bad about him?" Rosaline whispered again "Is he friends with the Montagues?"

"Not a chance" muttered Tybalt "He doesn't care for the feud. He cares for himself. He flits between either as he pleases. He just puts himself first. I mean, he has friends, but he's very independent. He probably doesn't care about them that much"

"He'd be...fifteen, right? I know he was born in the January after me. There's just less than a year between us"

Tybalt chewed his lip, considering "Yeah. Because he's in the year below you. Year ten. He's at this school. Perhaps we could go and spy on him at lunch"

"When did you meet him?"

"He was having a fight with Benvolio Montague"

"Benvolio? He can't fight!"

"I know. He's a wimp. I didn't particularly care who won or not, I just felt like having a go at a Montague. So I scared Benvolio off. And he wasn't even grateful. He has the most horrible high-pitched voice I ever heard. It went right through my brain" Tybalt shuddered.

"So, what happened to Hermia?" asked Rosaline.

"Hermia?" Tybalt laughed "Oh. I hauled her all the way home. Once you were gone she started saying horrible stuff about you, and also saying we ought to watch our backs because she was going to get us back for getting her in trouble. So I carried her upside down and she threw up and I just laughed at her. Then we arrived at Uncle Egues'. I dragged her up the path and told him what she'd done. Luckily Juliet was busy doing her homework so she didn't have a chance to see what the bad influence had done this time"

"What did Uncle Egues do with her?"

"He told her off. He made her get changed and give me my stuff back. Then he yelled at her again and I gloated. And you know what else? He even threatened to throw her out. In the end, she ran upstairs crying. Uncle Egues turned to me and assured me she won't do it again. He also said if I see her with Mercutio and his chums then I am allowed to use whatever force I see necessary to remove her from such company"

"And about time too!" finalised Rosaline, slamming down her pen. Mademoiselle Stevens cleared her throat, so they lowered their voices again.

"I still can't get over that time she gave Allegra itching powder and then she put it down your trousers. She is such a bad influence on her"

Tybalt shuddered with anger.

"Let's not dwell on it" said Rosaline quickly "It's nearly break. What say we go out?"

"Great plan" said Tybalt "I'll treat you to lunch"

About ten minutes later, Rosaline was wearing Tybalt's spare hoodie to keep herself warm in the cold air, and he had wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Together, they headed towards the school gates.

"Rosaline!" called a stern voice. Rosaline turned, and saw her least favourite teacher – Sister Agnes, who took them for English. As Verona was mostly Catholic, there were a few teachers within each school who were nuns or friars. Sister Agnes was one of them. She was notorious for disliking friendships between the different sexes, short skirts and coarse language. This, of course, conflicted with everything about Tybalt and Rosaline. They both swore, Rosaline prefered short skirts, and they were friends.

"Yes?" said Rosaline, turning away from Tybalt. Tybalt rolled his eyes irritatedly and wandered a couple of paces away down the corridor.

Sister Agnes looked warily at Tybalt. When she had taken his English class, he had made rude comments about the texts they were studying, received consistent D's, refused to do his homework and paid people to do his coursework, took the name of the Lord in vain, and on several occasions, fought with many of the other students in the class.

"One of our best students. Just the sort of person I have been looking for"

"How can I help you, Sister Agnes?" asked Rosaline.

"As I'm sure you're aware, the Verona Belle's Chastity Ball is coming up"

Tybalt choked with laughter. Rosaline glanced his way. She knew Tybalt was certainly not chaste. He got around a lot. He'd slept with heaps of girls. Most of them lived on her estate. There was a rumour that two were sisters!

"Yes, I know some other girls who will be going. Some of them are making speeches about why they are, um, staying chaste" replied Rosaline, trying to be polite. This wasn't something she wanted to discuss with anyone.

"Exactly. But I am afraid we are a bit down on the numbers this year"

"I wonder why" Tybalt said loudly, pretending to read a display board. Sister Agnes glared at him. Rosaline pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh.

"And I just thought...you're a sensible girl. You're a girl who knows how to behave. I just wondered if you'd consider taking the pledge and then speaking to the audience. You're already an asset to this school. You could even be Head Girl someday. This would be a fantastic opportunity, and make you such a role model for the younger students"

"I see" said Rosaline.

"What do you say?"

"I'll think about it" mused Rosaline.

"Oh, definitely do! You're such a smart girl. It's only the sensible thing to do"

Tybalt was chortling with laughter. Sister Agnes lowered her voice.

"And if I were you, I'd change the sort of company you keep. Boys like Tybalt Capulet are no good for girls like you"

"But he's part of my extended family"

"And that's as far as he should stay" Sister Agnes glared over her glasses "You could be brilliant, Rosaline. Don't hang back with uncivilised animals"

"Thank you, Sister Agnes" said Rosaline coldly. She turned, and stormed over to Tybalt "Keep walking, let's get out of here"

"Did she just call me an animal?"

"Yes. Be quiet"

"If she called me an animal, I think it's high time I reminded her who my family is. I'm a Capulet, not an animal!"

"We know that, but she's just a frigid bitch who had to become a nun because she never got any. You can get her back later, after I've had lunch. No use plotting on an empty stomach. How about putting something in her coffee?"

"Yeah, great idea. I think I have some ecstasy left over from the weekend"

They both chuckled, knowing that Tybalt was just joking. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and they headed out of the school again. Tybalt didn't do drugs. He smoked, he drank, he ran rampant around Verona causing chaos and was the bane of the existence of many adults, but he had never done drugs.


	7. The Latest Flame

Zelda12343 - I'm glad no one got offended about the stuffy old nun thing :)

Oreoskidz - Hahaha! That's too funny. I should read Much Ado sometime. And then maybe write a spin-off with Beatrix trying to find her dream man?

So, Rosaline's getting into a tricky situation. Let's see some more from the other side of things. By the way...does anyone here like Gabriel at all?

* * *

><p>Rose couldn't take her eyes off him.<p>

Her boyfriend had scruffy hair, bad dress sense, braces, spots, clunky glasses and he was on the tubby side. He wore weird mismatching socks and he hung around with the weirdest boy that ever lived (Mercutio) and the most lovesick idiot that ever lived (Romeo)

But he, and Rose had only just learnt his name was Gabriel, had platinum blond shoulder length hair, deep ocean blue eyes, curved pouted lips, delicate feminine features and high cheekbones, a pleasing elegant slender figure, toned from twelve years of ballet dancing. But he was also so...different.

He'd worn velvet leggings instead of the usual school trousers, a pair of black vintage shoes that were really made for women, a school shirt that he had tailored himself to fit better, a little woolly vest over that, and an oversized blazer scuffed in all the right places. Between his lips rested a cigarette. One hand, the nails painted black and his middle finger adorned with a ring, snaked up and removed the cigarette so he blew out smoke to billow around his face.

From where Rose stood, he seemed to have tossed her a shy smile, before turning away to walk up the platform. Her eyes fell to admire his...

"Why are you looking at him?" asked Mercutio. Rose was startled out her thoughts.

"Who?"

"Him. You know. Prima donna Gabriel Fulgencio"

"I wasn't" Rose shook her brown curls from under her winter hat "I mean, I was just wondering. Don't you think he's cold?"

"Even so, it's not your problem. Little freak he is" scorned Mercutio.

"Cut it out, Mercutio" sighed Benvolio.

"Ok. Can I have some scissors?"

"You know what I mean" Benvolio scolded.

"No, I don't"

"Why do you always act like this!" hissed Benvolio "Whenever Romeo or I have a girl around!"

"Act like what?" asked Mercutio, turning his head on his side innocently.

"This! I know you do. You don't act like this when Hermia's around. Only when Romeo has a girlfriend, or I have a girlfriend. It's embarrassing!" Benvolio hissed again. Rose looked at him strangely.

"I can embarrass you a lot worse than this, Bennykins. Want a demonstration?"

"No!" cried Benvolio. Mercutio stepped aside from him, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, cleared his throat and was about to let rip with a beauteous song from his beauteous voice, but...

"Benvolio! Mercutio! I have great news!" exclaimed Romeo, leaping in the middle of them.

"What is it?" asked Mercutio, annoyed his chance to embarrass Benvolio had been ruined.

"I...I'm in love!" cried Romeo passionately.

Mercutio and Benvolio both groaned. Romeo looked confused.

"What's the matter?"

"You're always in love!" yelled Mercutio.

"Who is it now?" grumbled Benvolio.

"I'm not always in love" lied Romeo "Those are childish fancies. I am in love...now!"

"With who?" asked Mercutio "Hey, I know...Tybalt's mum!"

"No!" cried Romeo, mollified. Even Benvolio and Rose giggled.

"Who is it?"

Romeo's eyes clouded over "It's Rosaline. Rosaline Oftmoro" he said moonily.

Mercutio's jaw dropped "Ewww! She's council estate trash!"

"No, she isn't!" cried Romeo "She's beautiful! Have you seen all those posh clothes she wears?"

"Those are copies, Romeo. Counterfeit"

"How do you know they are copies? The only boys I know who know things about clothes are gay ones!"

"Hey!" interrupted Benvolio "Stop it!"

"And anyway" said Mercutio "She has a boyfriend. She's seeing a guy called Orlando. Out of luck, loser"

"I don't care, I'll win her off him! She already hangs around with Tybalt a lot so it's not like she really loves him"

"Surely if she hangs around with Tybalt" Benvolio began "Surely she's more interested in him?"

"I thought Rosaline was going to be making a pledge at the Verona Belle's Chastity Ball?" added Rose. The boys looked at her, suddenly interested. She went on "Sometimes, the teachers compare us to her, saying she's a great example to us, that she's smart and stuff. Today, one of the teachers was asking her if she'd make a speech there. It's really annoying, actually. It's not like she likes any of us. She just looks down her pointy nose at everyone"

"What a pack of lies" Mercutio remarked. He turned to Romeo to finish talking "She is a complete and utter bitch to Hermy-wa. She calls her a bastard, says nasty things about her, and tells her she doesn't deserve to live with the Capulets. I forbid you from going after a slapper like her. You'll just come crawling back with bruises from Tybalt and an STD from her"

"Amen to that" said Benvolio.

"You're just jealous!" cried Romeo.

"Of what? Romeo, you don't know what love is" scolded Mercutio "You just like attention from us when you do your 'I'm Romeo Montague and I'm in love' facade. Well, from now on, Benvolio and I are going to ignore you. Go angst in a corner. Come along now, Bennykins"

"Bye" said Benvolio. Rose followed after him, her hand in his. Romeo sighed. Mercutio just didn't get it. Rosaline wasn't trash, she was smart. And seeing her yesterday, the way she had boldly tried to calm down the ferocious Tybalt Capulet, the way her ice blue eyes looked, the way her golden hair flickered in the dying light, the way her coat had been open just a little, allowing him to see her cleavage. She was beautiful, and Romeo loved her.


	8. Angelo's Gift

Zelda12343 - Yes, we will :)

So, Romeo's got another crush (sigh!) and it looks like poor Rosaline is the unwitting recipricant.

* * *

><p>After his little flirt, he supposed, with Rose, Gabriel headed home to put into action his latest scheme. Being overly dramatic was second nature to him. If Angelo thought for one second he could get at Gabriel by bringing another offspring into his life, he had another thought coming. Gabriel couldn't believe he'd turn against him like this. He thought Angelo cared about him, even if he couldn't understand him.<p>

Even though this would be the meanest thing he'd ever done, he had to think about it logically. He was doing her a favour – who would want Angelo for a father?

With trembling fingers, Gabriel wrapped the parcel. His hands were cold. With a small frown, he inspected his hands. He had a nail that was about to break. Gabriel pulled it, hoping to smoothen it with a nail file later, but he pulled to hard. The nail ripped to almost the quick. He gasped, and plunged it in his mouth to suck and sooth away the sting. When he pulled it out, it had stopped bleeding. There was no way he could file it. Instead he hurried into his bathroom to find a plaster. He glanced in the mirror.

He wasn't like the other boys in Verona. They fought, were always in scraps, had confidence and usually charisma oozing from their earholes. Gabriel had neither. Maybe that was why Angelo was so ashamed of him. Gabriel had not yet sided with the Capulets or the Montagues, but had been 'rescued' from possibly the wimpiest Montague by the toughest Capulet. Benvolio had caught Gabriel making eyes at his girlfriend, and wasted no time telling him where to go. Gabriel used words and some cutting insults to defend himself, until Tybalt stumbled onto the scene.

Clearing his mind of the thought, Gabriel pulled on his leather jacket and headed over to the Burry Estate. Normally, he wouldn't have been caught dead on the Burry Estate. It was literally the most disgusting place in Verona. There was a high chance of being beaten up, just for breathing too loudly. In fact, every time sirens were heard, or there was news of a burglary on the television, everyone would just roll their eyes and say "The Burry Estate!"

But the ends justified the means. Armed with printouts of Google directions, an address he had Juno wheedle out of his cousin Lysander's current crush Hermia, who hated Rosaline enough as it was, Gabriel was ready. He walked briskly as it would be dark soon, and soon found himself outside a terraced house. It was probably one of the less grim ones, as there were curtains in the windows, and vase of flowers in a window, but it was still kind of manky. Who would have thought that Queen Bee Rosaline lived here?

Gabriel buzzed, holding the package. He waited, expecting Rosaline to answer. He knew who she was, but hadn't ever got to know her.

Instead, a girl a few months younger than him opened the door. Gabriel almost wanted to gasp. She had blonde hair, like him, but it was darker. Her eyes were blue, just like him, but lighter. There was a clear resemblance, despite the fact that neither of them resembled Angelo.

"Hello?"

"Hi" said Gabriel.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Gabriel" replied Gabriel "You're not Rosaline, are you?"

"No, I'm her sister. I'm Livia. Can I help you?"

"My dad...I mean, Angelo, told me to drop this parcel off"

"Livia, who is it?" called a voice.

"It's..." Livia paused. She turned back to him "Do you want to come in?"

Gabriel stepped in, and looked around. They stood at the bottom of a flight of stairs. To his left was a kitchen with the tables and chairs crammed in. To his right was the living room. That was it. His entire bedroom was bigger than this.

It was strange, seeing how his...half-sisters, he supposed, had grown up. They were both at complete ends of the spectrum. Gabriel lived in the lap of luxury, wanting for nothing, and these girls had had to work for everything. He could see they'd clearly _tried_. There were rugs covering a fraying carpet. Plants sat on coffee tables, and it was clean.

"Can I help you?" Gabriel turned to see Camilla Oftmoro. She was quite pretty for her age. She wasn't as beautiful and glamorous as her sister, Lady Capulet, but she still had a nice face. She was blonde and blue eyed, just like her daughters, but she was getting on a bit. She was kind of chubby. In actual fact, she kind of reminded him of that photograph he kept of his mum, but his mum was young and beautiful.

"Angelo wanted me to give you this package" said Gabriel, using his posh snobby voice. He reminded himself that he was not here to make friends. He was here to scare them away. Curious as he was about them and their life, about their story of Angelo's sneaky affair, now was not the time to find out. Thank goodness he was a good actor.

"What is it?" asked Livia.

"How should I know?" asked Gabriel, still using his snooty voice.

"What are you talking like that for?" asked Livia, looking confused.

"Talking like what?" Gabriel went on "Like I am not a commoner? It is not my fault my father saw fit to make sure that I was educated correctly"

"I beg your pardon?" seethed Camilla.

"No, I beg yours" Gabriel pouted.

"Are you taking the piss?" hissed Camilla.

Gabriel was aware of the door being opened behind him, but decided to go on for the dramatic effect "I did not come here to mock you. Angelo made me come here and deliver a parcel. And to see whether or not you had spent all his money yet"

"I don't want his money" spat Camilla.

"Then it is not my problem" sighed Gabriel "He just made me deliver this. I did not have any desire to come to this" he let his eyes flicker around the room, so that he could deliver maximum offense "dump"

"How dare you insult my home!" shouted Camilla.

"I shall insult people as I see fit!" snapped Gabriel "I am leaving. I was supposed to be going round my friend Juno's house tonight"

"Then go!"

"Do what she says!" added Livia.

Gabriel held his hands up "Fine. I do not possess any desire to be here anyway. I do not care if Angelo has a go at me for what you did with the money. Looking at the state of you...I bet you have spent it all on drink"

Both Livia and her mother gasped, and Gabriel turned away to leave only after throwing the package at the wall. Mission accomplished. And then he turned straight into Rosaline.

"You must be Rosaline" he said. And then, for even more offense against them, he added "Tybalt Capulet's bitch"

"What do you want?" snarled Rosaline.

"Nothing. I am leaving. I have no desire to stay here any longer than necessary. Enjoy the package"

Rosaline blocked his way angrily "Number one, I want to know your name"

"Gabriel. Now step aside, I have some more important business to attend too"

"Secondly, I want to know of your relation to me"

"Well, Angelo Fulgencio is my father, and he claims you are his father from his first marriage to this whore-"

"How dare you!" shouted Camilla.

"And thirdly, I want you to turn around and apologize to my mum at once!"

"Make me" sang Gabriel "I don't have to do anything anyone tells me too!"

The door banged open, and this time Tybalt stood there.

"Apologize to Ms. Oftmoro at once!" he snarled. Gabriel looked taken aback.

"You heard me!" thundered Tybalt "Apologize to Ms. Oftmoro and Rosaline at once. Or next time I won't be so helpful when someone as pathetically wimpy as Benvolio Montague is ripping the shit out of you!"

"He didn't even touch me!" protested Gabriel.

"We know that's a lie, you little coward. Now turn around, and apologize!"

"I'm sorry I called you a whore" sulked Gabriel, and then he turned to Rosaline "I'm sorry for being rude"

"That's better" hissed Tybalt "Now, what business did you have here?"

"I just said! Angelo made me deliver a parcel. Now I'm off, because I want to go round my friend Juno's house to watch Gossip Boy!"

"Get out" instructed Tybalt, pointing at the door. Gabriel turned, and pranced off down the street. When he was out of eyeshot, he slowed to a pace. Some chavs shouted something vulgar at him. Gabriel wrapped his leather jacket around him. He felt a little guilty.

But now that they had their little 'present' from 'Angelo', with a bit of luck, they wouldn't want anything to do with him. Even though it seemed harsh, in the long run, they'd be grateful to him


	9. Bonding Time

Zelda12343 - I don't think anyone likes him...I find it hard to write him with any sympathetic tendencies now!

So what has Gabriel wrapped up and given to Rosaline her family? We'll find out today.

* * *

><p>The next day, Rosaline carried the parcel back to Angelo's house, armed with Tybalt's lousy directions and a mouthful of unladylike insults waiting for Angelo. She was dressed in her best – heels, pencil straight skirt, a tight shirt with a belt wrapped around her waist over the shirt, and her red coat over that. She carried a handbag on her left arm so that the parcel nestled safely in her right. The houses slowly changed from rundown council estates and flats, to bungalows, average sized family homes, smart middle class homes, stately manors, and then finally Rosaline stood outside a pair of gates. The wall was tall, grey and imposing. Almost like a prison cell.<p>

Rosaline pressed on the security buzzer.

"Hello?" it buzzed back.

"This is Rosaline Oftmoro, Angelo's daughter. I want to speak to him" she snapped haughtily.

"He's not in right now. But Gabriel is. Would you like to speak to him?"

"Fine. Gabriel will be satisfactory"

The gates swung open and Rosaline made the walk up the pathway to the front door. The house loomed out from the trees. A few ugly garden gnomes squatted along the grass. Rosaline couldn't resist kicking one with the toe of her heels. She reached the door, and knocked.

A servant came to the door "Miss. Rosaline? Nice to meet you. Gabriel is in one of the back rooms"

Rosaline clutched her parcel tighter, and followed the woman into the house. As they walked, she looked around. After all, this place could have been her home. It was grand and majestic, but not like the Capulet Manor. The Capulets had had their home for generations and generations. This mansion was new and modern. Rosaline felt herself becoming curious about her father's history, as she had so enjoyed looking into the Capulet's. Looking around, there were also beautiful artworks on the wall and a couple of sculptures littered every here and there. As she followed the woman, the warm melody of a piano playing grew louder as they progressed deeper into the house.

"He's in here. I'd be careful, he's busy playing. When you interrupt him, he will be in a foul mood"

"I don't care" snipped Rosaline. She stepped into the room, and looked at her half-brother. He was bent over the piano, slowly and methodically pressing on beautiful ivory white keys. His blond hair fell over his face as he bent to play. As Rosaline listened, she realised that he was very, very good. He looked lost in the music and at peace with himself.

"Ahem"

Gabriel stopped playing, and turned "Oh, it's you. I was hoping you were a famous conductor ready to whisk me out of here and catapult me into the dizzying heights of fame"

"No time for any of your fantasies" Rosaline snapped. She held out the parcel "You can have this back. My mum doesn't want a reminder of the worst day of her life"

Gabriel blinked "Really? Well, it's not my problem. Angelo gave it to me and told me to give it to you. I played no part in this. I have no use for it. I was just the go between. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to rehearse"

He turned, and began to play the instrument again. Rosaline reached over, and grabbed his music sheet.

"Hey!" protested Gabriel.

"That's enough. What does Angelo want?"

"How should I know?" Gabriel answered. He made a grab for his music sheet, but Rosaline held it high above his head.

"I want answers!" insisted Rosaline "What does he want?"

"I don't know! It's not like he's a caring father or anything" snapped Gabriel.

"You can say that again" scoffed Rosaline.

"I think he hates me" added Gabriel. At first he seemed nervous, but then he suddenly pleased to have someone to listen to his complaints "I think he really hates me"

"Why? He stuck around for you" scorned Rosaline.

"He didn't have a choice. My mum walked out, leaving me here. She didn't take me with her. I wish she had"

"Why? He left my mum for her"

Gabriel looked sheepish "It was my fault. I wasn't an easy kid. Has Angelo told you about me?"

"No. Tybalt's told me some stuff about you"

"What did he say?" demanded Gabriel, leaning forwards and suddenly looking interested.

"He said you have a horrible high-pitched voice and that everyone hated you, no one would want to meet you, and you had a fight with Benvolio Montague and he had to help you out"

Gabriel looked stunned and hurt "I don't have a horrible high-pitched voice – I have a tenor vocal range! Not everyone hates me. My best friend is Juno Nightingale, and Rose Spearings has a crush on me even though she's going out with Benvolio Montague. I had an argument with him over her. And then Tybalt happened to barge in and decide to yell at Benvolio, just because he felt like it"

"Well then!" said Rosaline "Whatever. Why did your mum walk out, after she went through all the trouble of being a home-wrecker?"

Gabriel sighed, glanced away from her back to his piano, drumming his black finger nails against the white keys "It's because Angelo said she was raising me to me a sissy"

"Really?" Rosaline raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! I don't know if you know this, but since I was three, I have been attending ballet class. And I wish to audition at the La Scala Ballet Company in Milan when I'm eighteen. I also play piano, guitar, cello, violin and I can sing very well. I'm taking drama this year and I'm the best in the class, if I may say so myself. That's why he hates me. My mum said I should be allowed to do whatever I wanted; Angelo said I was turning into a sissy. They argued, and argued, and she walked out. I don't get where the logics were in there, but at the end of the day, it was my fault. All my fault. And since then, he's hated me because I'm so stubborn and won't do what he says. But," Gabriel finished, and his delicate tone harden "he deserves it, I say"

"Oh. I see" murmured Rosaline.

"What do you say?" asked Gabriel, glancing up at through his veil of blond hair "Did I forget to mention how he hates that I simply adore clothes and shoes, and fashion, and I watch Gossip Boy religiously?"

Rosaline gave a small smile "I love Gossip Boy. It's my guilty pleasure"

Gabriel beamed "Did you see the episode where..."

"I've seen them all!" cried Rosaline "I love all the clothes they wear. They look so amazing. I'd love to be a rich glamorous socialite like that. I mean, sometimes, it makes me think of people like Marilyn Monroe, and-"

"She's my idol!" gasped Gabriel, clasping his hands together in an innocent childlike fashion "I love her so much. I have all her films that I could get my hands on. And Audrey Hepburn is beautiful. I try to copy her style sometimes, that meek gamine look. I like Marlene Dietrich's work as well, and sometimes I copy her look. It's easier to do when you're a guy. I have their films as well. My favourite is, obviously, Breakfast At Tiffany's"

"That's my favourite too. Me and Livia watch it all the time. I'd love to go to New York. Tibby said he'd take me sometime"

"I've been. It's amazing" Gabriel leant on the piano, and then jumped as it made a sound "My favourite movie with Marilyn Monroe is The Seven Year Itch, where she wears the infamous white dress and plays Chopsticks on the piano. I can play that. Can you?"

"No. I can play The Montagues Are Losers, as composed by Tybalt when we were five"

Gabriel giggled, and started to play a few lines of a song "My favourite film ever, though, is The Piano. It's beautiful. But my favourite thing to actually play is this song, composed by a woman who had three husbands. They say she killed them all to get all their money and become rich. Would you like me to play it?"

"Yes, yes. Show me"

Gabriel moved up on the piano stool, and patted it for her to sit down. Rosaline did, and Gabriel flipped his music sheets over. He began to play. Rosaline applauded him as he went.

"That's amazing how you can learn all that"

"It's no biggie. It's my most favourite thing to do in all the world" Gabriel smiled. A light seemed have lit up within him. Rosaline looked on curiously, and Gabriel continued "Well, after dancing of course. I just love music and dance. I think that in this world of ugliness, conflicted with poverty, child and animal cruelty that is too tied in with the depressing subjects such as the economy and politics, it is a light. A wondrous, illuminating light"

"What's all this then?" asked a gruff voice. The siblings turned around to see their father glaring disapprovingly in the doorway.


	10. Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Zelda12343 - Oops! I meant in this chapter we'd find out what it was. Sorry.

Rosaline and Gabriel are starting to get to know each other a little bit more. Now let's throw Angelo into the mix. What does he have to say for himself?

* * *

><p>"Angelo!" gasped Gabriel, rapidly closing the lid of the piano and tucking away his music books.<p>

"What are you doing?"

"I was just showing Rosaline how I played piano. Unless that's a crime against the holy rites of manhood"

"Very funny" grunted Angelo. He turned to Rosaline "My son thinks he is the Prince of Sarcasm"

Gabriel stuck his tongue out. Meanwhile, Angelo noticed the parcel sitting on the floor "Why is there a parcel on the floor?"

"I brought it back" said Rosaline.

"Brought what back?"

"The dress, of course. You upset my mum with that. You had no need too" scolded Rosaline.

"What dress?" frowned Angelo. He picked up the package, and began to unwrap it. Gabriel stayed silent, his long white fingers resting above the beautiful keys. Angelo ripped open the paper, and then Camilla's wedding dress fell out.

"What on earth is that doing out?"

"You made Gabriel give to my mum. I don't know what for, since she won't fit it anymore, and she doesn't exactly cherish the memories. So, I brought it back for you to keep, since you dote on womanizing and then breaking the hearts of women!"

"I did not wrap this up to give to Camilla!" Angelo glowed with anger. He turned to face the culprit "Gabriel!"

"I was doing them a favour. Who would want to get entangled with you?" scorned Gabriel.

"So you were behind it?" accused Rosaline, standing up and stepping away from him.

"I was just..." Gabriel trailed. He didn't really have an excuse "I thought I was doing you a favour, trying to warn you away from Angelo"

Angelo looked at his son furiously "Another one of your psycho boy pranks? There is something seriously wrong with you. Go to your room!"

"Fine" Gabriel snatched his music sheet and stormed out of the room. Rosaline was left with Angelo, for the first time in fifteen years. He turned to look down at her. Rosaline looked right back at him, returning his stare.

"So" said Angelo "How old are you now?"

"I'll be sixteen on the 7th of March" replied Rosaline.

"You've grown a lot"

"Yeah, children tend to do that"

"You look just like your mother"

"Great" said Rosaline "So, are you going to ditch me for someone younger?"

"Don't be silly" Angelo shook his head "You haven't heard my side of the story. It has been difficult for me too, you know. You've only heard what your mother said about the divorce. It's why I've taken my time in getting in touch"

"Shame on you, regardless" Rosaline retorted.

"Listen to me..."

"Not a chance" scoffed Rosaline "You think you can just barge in on my life, after mum spent fifteen years struggling to raise me, with your bratty excuse of a son who you don't even care about either, when I'm doing so well at school, and expected to achieve all A's for my GCSEs? Don't even count on it! Livia and I want nothing to do with you"

"You haven't even heard my side of the story" Angelo repeated "Come on, sit down. I'll tell you what it's been like for me"

Rosaline glared at him "You have five minutes to convince me"

"It's difficult working in politics, everything is in the public eye" Angelo began "I was aiming for great things, and I was seeing your mother, the heiress to the Oftmoro fortune which was being squandered as we dated. There was a lot of pressure on me, for my image, to settle down and marry. Your mother fell pregnant with you meanwhile. Verona is a mainly Catholic city. If I wanted to keep my reputation and my voters, then I had to marry her. Which I did. But things were hard. We weren't right for each other. So, when there was a new receptionist where I worked...her name was Lina...we hit it off right away...we couldn't help ourselves. We started seeing each other, and I thought she was the one for me. She fell pregnant..."

"Not very good with contraception, are you?" interrupted Rosaline.

Angelo laughed "Your mother found out about Gabriel being on the way, and blew her nut. We argued, and argued, and divorced. I did try, in the early days, to make contact, but she wanted nothing to do with me. So I gave up. I didn't know she was pregnant with Livia at the time either. I married Lina and Gabriel was born. Five years later, Lina walked out on me. That's my side of the story. I tried again to get in contact, but still Camilla refused. And every time I did, things would get blown up in the press. It was bad for my image and my career. I needed my career to afford my lifestyle and pay for Gabriel's upbringing. It's just...last November, it was my birthday and I realised how old I was getting. I realised I couldn't just let you slip through my fingers like that. I'm your dad. I want to know you, at least"

"So, this is all just some midlife crisis, isn't it?" said Rosaline "Who cares? I'm not going to be your pet project. Stop contacting us. You are dead to me!"

Rosaline grabbed her handbag and started to run out of the mansion. The servant who had let her in watched her go, confused. Still she wanted nothing to do with him.

Pathetic pig.

And she didn't want anything to do with Gabriel either.

Little bitch.


	11. Romeo's Being Delusional

Zelda12343 - Wait and see, they might get to know each other a bit more as the story goes on.

Oh dear, Rosaline and her dad are not getting on! Let's see how Hermy-wa and the boys are getting on.

* * *

><p>"Hermy-wa, what are you doing down there?"<p>

"Oh. Hi Wooshy-wo!" replied Hermia, from where she sat perched on the end of the road.

"Hi, Hermy-wa. Why were you down here?" asked Mercutio.

Hermia struggled up "I've kind of been thrown out the house for today"

"What did you do?" asked Romeo.

"Erm...I kind of pissed off my step-ma and Eugene yelled at me to go out and leave her along. Only I didn't know if you lot were out, so I've been sitting here for about an hour alone. My butt is freezing"

"I'll say" shivered Benvolio.

"Why didn't you ring me?" asked Mercutio.

"Because Tybalt sat on my phone last night with his fat chav arse. He says it was an accident, but it probably wasn't. I was saying angry stuff about him to Juliet this morning, Step-toe overheard me, yelled at me, taking his side, I said she was having an affair with him as a joke, but she took it personally, Eugene came out to see what was going on, she did that classic Oftmoro 'Poor little me' act and so he yelled at me, told me go out and stop annoying her, so I am here" sighed Hermia.

"Stupid Tybalt. He makes everything go wrong" Mercutio nodded in sympathy "Well, your soul sister is here now, so you're hanging out with us, and today we are...what are we doing today, guys?"

"I'm meeting Rosaline" said Romeo moonily.

"Here we go again" muttered Mercutio.

"Don't start, you two" trembled Benvolio.

"Are you making fun of me, Mercutio?" demanded Romeo.

"Yes" replied Mercutio "Because you are pathetic. Rosaline does not love you! She never has, never will, and you may as well give up!"

"She's already seeing someone!" shouted Hermia. Benvolio wilted away and sat on someone's garden wall.

"And she wears a Chastity Ring!" added Mercutio.

"You're jealous!" Romeo dismissed "I love her. I'll make it work. I haven't felt this way before"

"Oh my God, just listen to us!" groaned Mercutio, banging his head against a lamppost "Why don't you get it? You are not in love with Rosaline. You are delusional and you are in love with the idea of being in love. And you are driving me nuts. She does not want anything to do with you"

"Why are you in love with her? She is a cow. She makes my life hell at every opportunity. If I had a penny for every time she called me a bastard I'd be richer than your family and my family and Mercutio's family combined" explained Hermia "Remember the other day when she and Tybalt got me in trouble for hanging out with you? Remember when she told Tybalt to drown me at the swimming pool? Remember when she told me to kill myself? Remember when she told everyone that I was a slag? Remember when she told everyone that I wasn't really Lady Capulet's? Remember when she started a Hermia Hate Club and wrote nasty things about me in a notebook? Why are you in love with a cold-hearted cow like her? Everything about her is so...is so..."

"Fake" finished Mercutio "She controls and manipulates everyone around her with her variety of different faces. She changes from a chavette to a sweet little school girl within minutes. Stop obsessing, and do something useful with your time"

"You don't understand!" cried Romeo "Love is a very complex thing"

"Shut up, Romeo!" shouted Benvolio, making a change from his usually docile demeanour "I know what love is, and I can tell you that you only want to get in Rosaline's tarty leopard print thong!"

"Ha!" cackled Mercutio.

"Amen to that!" Hermia snorted.

"Well, who are you in love with?" demanded Romeo.

Benvolio flushed "You know Rose..."

"Aww, Benny loves Rosy Posy" teased Hermia "You look so cute together!"

"Yeah! And Benvolio doesn't obsess over her every minute of the day or bang on about her to us. It might not last forever, but that's the sort of 'love' you should be looking for. Or, you could just give up. I don't think there's such thing as love anyway. It drives me nuts" dismissed Mercutio.

"This isn't fair. I'd be nice to you if any of you were in love" snivelled Romeo.

"Well, it's a damn good job I'm not" said Mercutio. Romeo was silenced. He knew he'd been outspoken. But he just couldn't get his mind off Rosaline! She was so beautiful, so captivating, so glamorous, so amazing...

"Well, if you're going to be mean, I'm going to try ringing her again. I rung her this morning and told her to meet me by the fountain at noon"

"Fantastic" scoffed Hermia "You go, and I'll laugh when she stands you up! I heard she's with Tybalt today, doing whatever they like doing when they're alone"

"Like smoking pot" said Mercutio.

"Exactly! They are smoking pot. She won't come"

"She might!" Romeo cried hopefully "She might come! Let's go!"

"Bye, Romeo. See you in an hour. WHEN SHE'S STOOD YOU UP!" shouted Mercutio after him.


	12. Reputation

Zelda12343 - I love them too. They're so cute! I definitely enjoy writing them.

Oreoskidz - Hahaha! I knew that someone would like the tarty leoprint thong line!

Poor Romeo. And he gets humiliated today. Poor, poor chap.

* * *

><p>"This is perfect" sighed Rosaline, lying back on the grass.<p>

"Yeah" replied Tybalt, lying by her side "Apart from the parcel, what are you going to do with the money?"

Rosaline rolled her eyes "I have no idea. I want to spend it, and make myself happy, but at the same time, it feels wrong to use it. He explained to me about the divorce, but it was a pretty lame excuse. His reputation had been at stake!"

"What a pathetic man" scoffed Tybalt "Want me and Simon to pay him a visit?"

"No. Leave him alone. He's just a pathetic, pathetic womanizing old man going through a midlife crisis. He and Gabriel deserve each other. I mean, in a way, I understand the reputation bit, I have to keep my reputation at school, but for pity's sake, I'm his daughter! Your uncle dotes on Juliet. He took Hermia in"

"Well, just so you know. I'm here" Tybalt reached over and grabbed her hand.

"I know" Rosaline turned to smile at him.

"Has Montague been giving you any grief?" asked Tybalt.

"Um...several voicemail messages, and he has somehow managed to get Livia's mobile number and send her texts asking her to talk to me for her. I swear he has de Clerambault's Syndrome or something, I mean, Katharina says it was the same when he fancied her"

"Stalker" muttered Tybalt "Just say the word, and I'll take him out. I will. I'll smash his face in!"

"Give it a rest, Tibby" sighed Rosaline "He asked me to meet him by the fountain at noon"

"Are you going?"

"Nope" replied Rosaline.

Coincidently, the bell for noon rang from the church clock. They both turned and sniggered at each other.

"Looks like Romeo's meeting nobody at the fountain right now" smirked Tybalt.

"I bet he's bragged to his little chums that he's meeting me. How hilarious!"

"He deserves it!"

"Mercutio will tease the hell out of him!"

"Hey, Ros, want to know a secret about Mercutio?" asked Tybalt.

"What?"

Tybalt leant over and whispered it to her.

"His poor mother! Married to a drunkard, and then him! I only hope her oldest son Valentine will be a source of comfort"

Rosaline turned away and looked over at the rest of Verona, the towers loomed over the trees in their patch of the park. She wondered about Angelo, as partial governor of the city, and wondered how he felt. Pride? Responsibility? But most of all, she wondered if he ever wondered about the wife and daughters he had abandoned as he helped govern over a city with a population full of children and their parents. Reputation indeed...

"Ros? You alright? I know sometimes we sit quietly, but is something bothering you?"

"How'd you know?"

"You get this look" said Tybalt, with a wave of his hands.

"Just thinking about Angelo, really. I mean...it's just...depressing. It's always on my mind!"

Tybalt glanced away, and then squeezed her hand, sitting up "Come on. We'll go back to mine and have lunch. I'm starving. I'm sure I make us some decent food, and I think I taped The Jeremy Kyle Show. Want to watch it?"

"Yep. Might as well. I heard Shari's aunty is going to go on it someday"

They both clamoured to their feet, although Tybalt helped Rosaline up. They walked, with his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist, and headed towards his place. Unfortunately, the quickest way to get there was to pass the fountain, where, undoubtedly, lovestruck Romeo would be waiting. The thought didn't register with either of them until...

"Rosaline!" cried the all too familiar voice.

"Great" muttered Rosaline. Tybalt unwrapped his arm from around her, and Rosaline felt him stiffen, straighten up and knew that he would be scowling.

"Rosaline! I knew you would come!"

"Just keeping walking. I'll ignore him for your sake, and the fact that I want to watch my TV show without my knuckles stinging"

"Rosaline! Don't leave me! I have stayed awake all night in anticipation of seeing you today!" Romeo hurried in front of us, and smiled eagerly at her. Tybalt, however, gave him a death glare. Romeo's smile faltered.

"Hello, Romeo" answered Rosaline coldly, glancing at Tybalt.

"Tybalt, did you...walk Rosaline here? That was...nice of you"

"Yes, I walked Rosaline here. And I will walk with her back to my house when you get out of my way" Tybalt snapped.

"But she is here to see me!" cried Romeo desperately.

"Romeo, I don't mean to be harsh, but I'm not interested in you. You aren't my type. So go find some other girl"

"B...b...but I love you!"

"You don't know what love is!" Tybalt yelled "Move, boy!"

"Why don't you love me? Why aren't I your type? I send you love letters, and trinkets, and I write poems about you, and think about you, and I brought you a rose..."

"Romeo, go away! I'm already seeing someone! And I'm sworn to a life of chastity! I will be attending and making a speech at the Verona Belle's Chastity Ball. Tybalt, as my friend and relative, escorts me around to protect my virtue. Now, please, leave us be!"

Tybalt stirred Rosaline away from the crying Montague. He was smiling.

"That was hilarious! Sister Agnes approves!"

Rosaline beamed "Yeah. Now he has no cause to even try and ask me out. Leaving me to pick and choose whatever guy I want"

"Like who?" teased Tybalt.

"Ah. That is a secret!" replied Rosaline, clasping his cheek for a second before pulling him onward.


	13. Romance Fail

Zelda12343 - And thus the plot begins...

Poor Romeo. He got rejected. I wonder what his gang are going to say.

* * *

><p>Well, they waited.<p>

"This sucks" complained Hermia, squatting on the floor and stretching her legs out on the curb.

"Don't you worry someone will come and trip over you?" asked Benvolio.

"Nah. They should look where they're going anyway. I was here first" replied Hermia.

They'd bought snacks from the supermarket, complained about Eugene (aka Lord Capulet) trying to get Hermia to stop hanging around them, talked about the scary deputy head teacher at their school and did impressions of her, talked about that new film that was coming out, admired Hermia's Doc Martin's, moaned about Benvolio's sister's obsession with Twilight, talked about their favourite bands, and now they were still waiting.

"Why does he do this?" grumbled Mercutio "It's so pathetic"

"Tell me about it" Hermia rolled her eyes.

"We've been friends since we were all like, one. We're dead close, but this is the one thing that breaks us apart. Romeo is my oldest and closest friend, but sometimes I debate why I even stay hanging around with him when he acts like this" Mercutio went on.

"What am I, the next door neighbour?" asked Benvolio.

"No! We're all close. But you are a prude, so I can't bond with you over dirty jokes or anything"

"I'm not a prude!"

"Yes, you are!"

"I'm not!"

"You are the most innocent teenage boy I have ever met" interrupted Hermia "You need corrupting. Want me to enlighten you on the facts of life?"

Mercutio burst out sniggering, as Benvolio flushed a deep red.

"No...no thank you. I already have a girlfriend, and I, um, love her very much"

Before Hermia and Mercutio could embarrass Benvolio any further, Romeo shuffled onto the scene, looking defeated.

"Did you see her?" asked Benvolio.

"Yes"

"Oh" said Hermia "Ring-a-ding-ding!"

"She was with Tybalt" snivelled Romeo.

"What did I tell you?" sighed Hermia.

"He told me I didn't know what love was"

"Hang on, Tybalt's intelligent?" interrupted Mercutio.

"He told me they were going back to his place"

"To get it on with each other" interrupted Hermia.

"She said she wore a Chastity Ring, would be attending and making a speech at the Verona Belle's Chastity Ball, and said Orlando was the only boy who respected her in that aspect and she didn't want to date anyone"

"Well, that's obviously a lie if she's with Tybalt" interrupted Benvolio.

"She said that as her friend and relative he protected her virtue from distractions. I don't get it!"

Hermia and the two boys just burst out laughing.

"Oh, Romeo. Just give up" said Hermia.

"No! You've said something to her, haven't you? You hate her, and want to ruin her life. You're jealous!" yelled Romeo.

"What did you say?" asked Mercutio.

"I said she's said something to Rosaline to make her hate me. She's jealous of her, isn't she?"

"Not a chance in hell!" exclaimed Hermia.

"Hermia is her own person. She's cool. Why would she be jealous of Rosaline?" flushed Benvolio.

"Romeo, you've done enough. Go round Hamlet's house, pick flowers, and angst with him. I'm sick to the death of you and your moods" instructed Mercutio, shoving his fingers in his ears. Romeo retreated away, muttering something about Mercutio being a rubbish friend. Benvolio sighed, and leant against the wall.

"I hate it when he does this"

"It's always him messing up our group with his pretence of being 'in love'" mimicked Mercutio.

"I hate it when there's an argument here" sighed Hermia "I really do. I prefer it when we all get along. You know, I think it's about high time I put a stop to Rosaline screwing with Romeo's head. This is taking the biscuit, do you know what I mean? I think it's time I planned a little revenge. What do you two say?"


	14. The Rose Thief

Zelda12343 - Yep, she sure is. Hermia's cooking up a naughty revenge plan...

Sorry for the wait, had to get some coursework and my mum's birthday presents sorted. Warning, Angelo and Gabriel start being violent with each other, and Gabriel starts his girlfriend stealing.

* * *

><p>"Gabriel!" roared Angelo. Gabriel stepped out his room to the top of the stairs, carrying a dance bag.<p>

"Yes?" he said grandly, holding his head as high as he could.

"How dare you" hissed Angelo.

"I did them a favour. Who would want you for a father?" cried Gabriel in his defense.

Angelo made an angry noise at the back of his throat "I am so, so, ashamed of you! I thought you knew better than to go around, manipulating people and causing trouble like that! How dare you poke your nose into my private business, my relationship with my daughters-"

"Your private business?" scorned Gabriel "You publicly declared to me you were seeking to establish contact with them again. You told me you wanted me to know. This concerns me very greatly"

"If you are upset, then you come and say so!"

"I said I was upset!" Gabriel cried, his usually high voice hoarse "I said I was upset, and you didn't listen. You don't care about either of them – this is about getting back at me!"

"That's preposterous! Honestly, Gabriel, you are so overly dramatic. You have to stir and blow things up right out of proportion every time just to get attention, don't you?"

"I don't stir things up!"

"Yes, you do. There was no need for you, to go out, and drop off an old wedding dress to my ex wife. This is not about me getting back at you. This is about me trying to make up for fifteen years!"

"You are trying to get back at me! You hate me. You never wanted me. Why now? Why do you want to talk to Rosaline now? You've had years to do so! This is about you getting back at me. You want Rosaline to be all 'Oh, daddy, of course I'll be your perfect little girl' because I'm not the perfect little boy you wanted! You want to play happy families with some daughters just to spite me"

"What are you talking about?" asked Angelo, storming up the stairs to see him. Gabriel glared back, his baby blue eyes filled with hurt.

"Why else would you want to see two girls you got rid of, so you could have me? You don't care about either of them. You just want to do this to get at me"

"That's ridiculous!"

Gabriel just screamed "Well, there's no point in holding it back any longer. There's no point in masking it with false care and concern. You can forget a reconcilation. And so, before you can say it, I shall take the opportunity to voice my feelings towards you! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

Downstairs, the cook looked at the housekeeper.

"One of his little tantrums" they agreed, nodding.

"Shut up!" Angelo shouted. Gabriel flew at him, screeching and making even more noise. Angelo had no idea what to make of his son when this hysterical mood came upon him. He didn't know how to calm him or reassure him. All he could do was catch Gabriel's wrists to defend himself, and so his son struggled to be free.

"Let me go, you womanizing pig!"

Angelo dropped his wrists and slapped him across the face, so that Gabriel swallowed his screams and staggered, clutching his cheek.

"You hit me!" screeched Gabriel "That's it, I'm going to rehearsal. If I don't come back, it's your fault!"

He ran out of the house, and reached the gate. Luckily, Angelo hadn't locked it, and so he was able to leave as soon as possible. He didn't actually have class for another two hours, but he just wanted an excuse to get away. When he reached the park, he slammed himself down on a bench and began to cry. Gabriel hated himself for being such a crybaby, but there was little he could do about it.

"Are you all right?"

Gabriel looked up, and found himself gazing into the eyes of the very girl he'd been craving for the past couple of months.

"Just peachy" mumbled Gabriel.

Rose sat beside him "You don't look all right"

"Thanks" Gabriel sniffed sarcastically.

"Here. I have a tissue"

Gabriel accepted it, and daintily dabbed at his cheeks "Can't walk about all blotchy, I guess"

"No. You always look really glamorous"

Now that was what Gabriel liked to hear. He gave her his best movie star smile "Thanks"

"Where did you get that coat? It's gorgeous"

"My friend James has a vintage clothes shop. I'm his best customer. I get some of my stuff there. I once bought this amazing sequined blazer and these darling red shoes last week"

"Sounds great" said Rose.

"Yes. You know, I was there the other day, and there was this gorgeous purple amethyst necklace. It would have suited you. It matched the colour of your eyes, exactly. Apart from Elizabeth Taylor, I've never seen such an exquisite pair of purple eyes before"

She blushed, a rosy pink hue spreading in her cheeks "Thank you"

"What? You're a pretty girl. Take pride in yourself. If you've got it, flaunt it" Gabriel held onto his dance bag tightly, shivering in the cold. March meant spring, but he was still freezing cold.

"What have you got in there?" asked Rose.

"My dance equipment. I'm a dancer" Gabriel tossed his platinum blond bangs.

"Wow, what do you do?"

"Ballet. One day, I hope to audition at La Scala Ballet Company in Milan"

"No pressure, then!"

Gabriel laughed "Oh, it's not that bad if you really want it. Which I do. I won't let anybody stop me, whether it's the evil dictator I live with or those stupid boys in my class"

"People tease you?"

"All the time" Gabriel sighed gloomily "They are convinced that I am a sissy and a fag. Including my own father. He always laughs at me for it, and calls me stupid names, like Billy because of Billy Elliot and the nickname Billy No Mates. I had a row with him just now and ran out the door to class. It doesn't start for another two hours but I just couldn't bear it"

"I'm sorry to hear that. Coming from such a sweet guy. I had to go to the post office for my mum. It's freezing enough walking about out here, but I bet you're chilled to the bone"

"Oh, it's no bother. I'd rather be cold out here, than suffer the coldness of the rejection of a parent"

"What about your mum? Is she supportive?"

"She walked out when I was five"

"My dad walked out when I was a baby, leaving mum with me and my two older sisters" sympathised Rose "We're all very close. I can't imagine what it would be like if we didn't get on. You know, I used to do a bit of dancing when I was younger. My mum and sisters came to all my shows"

"Why'd you quit?" asked Gabriel.

"Some other girls called me fat"

"That's stupid. You have a beautiful curvy figure"

She blushed again. Gabriel smiled serenely.

"You're so sweet" she gushed.

"It's nothing. I'm surrounded by loads of skinny minnies all day. I do love a proper woman even though I'm skinny too. My PE teacher, who is also my form tutor, says I'm anorexic. I do try to keep my weight low, as it means I can be lifted because sometimes my dance teacher makes me dance with him for demonstrations for the girls in my class"

"Does it hurt when you go en pointe?"

"It used too, but I've gotten used to it" explained Gabriel "I know – why don't you come to my class with me? You can watch me, and I'll show you what I mean"

"I don't know, I mean, I don't know if Benvolio would like it..."

Gabriel rolled his eyes "Forget him. He can deal with it. You'll love it. Come with me, it'll be much more fun! And then I can take you to James' shop and show you the necklace. You'd look so beautiful. Please"

"All right. What time does it start?"


	15. Tybalt Is A Crossdresser

Zelda12343 - His dad is a politician, it's in the blood! Perhaps I should write him with some more sympathetic tendencies! And for some reason, I had this vision of him as Lauren Lopez's version of Draco from A Very Potter Musical.

So, Gabriel's naughty girlfriend stealing scheme has been kicked off. But with Rosaline's 16th birthday coming closer, what's Tibby got her?

* * *

><p>"Tybalt!" yelled Lord Capulet.<p>

"What?" Tybalt yelled back from where he slumped in front of the television.

"Come here!"

"Why?"

"Just come here!"

Tybalt reluctantly paused the TV and headed upstairs to his uncle's study. He didn't know why his uncle had called him around here. He hadn't even bothered talking to him right away, so Tybalt had just made himself comfortable watching the telly. Hermia was out, so he didn't have to bother dealing with her. Juliet was stuck her room as punishment for copying Hermia when Hermia drew a slut picture of Rosaline, so he couldn't have hung out with her. The TV round here was way bigger than his, and it had a much better picture. Mentally, in his head, Tybalt tried to work out the cost of buying one for his house. But it was too difficult and so Tybalt just gave up. He didn't like maths anyway. And he had a calculator for difficult sums like that.

"Yeah?" said Tybalt, opening the door. Lord Capulet swivelled around on his chair. Tybalt remembered the time Hermia had been messing around in it, trying to see how fast she could go, so he gave her a shove and she nearly fell down the stairs. Whoops.

"I've been going over your finances, young man" he scowled, pushing his reading glasses up his nose.

"What's wrong with them?" answered Tybalt defiantly.

"You've gone overdraft. And not only have you gone overdraft, you've gone thousands of Euros overdraft. What the hell did you spend it all on?"

Tybalt shrugged "Nothing"

Lord Capulet glared sternly at him "Well, I looked into your history of purchases, and found out"

"So?"

"You bought a three hundred Euro gift voucher for the most expensive hair saloon in Verona, a one hundred Euros gift voucher for a the most expensive nail saloon in Verona, a size eight dress from Dolce and Gabbana costing about a thousand Euros, a pair of shoes from Gucci, costing five hundred Euros, Chanel No. 5 perfume, a handbag, a purse, more hair products, make-up, nail varnish, and so on. Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"No" lied Tybalt.

Lord Capulet shook his head "I can't believe it. You, of all people, are a cross-dresser!"

"WHAT! I'm not a cross-dresser!" shouted Tybalt.

"Well, why else would you be buying women's clothes? Although, I have to say, I doubt you'd fit size eight!"

"They weren't for me!" snapped Tybalt.

Finally, it twigged with Lord Capulet.

"You spent thousands of Euros of Capulet money on one of your skanky chav girlfriends! How dare you, Tybalt! I told you to be careful with the money, it doesn't grow on trees, for God's sake! I said if you wanted extra money, you had to get a job and work for it-"

"I do!" Tybalt protested "I just didn't have enough of it this month so I used the money you give us!"

"To spend on some cheap girl with expensive taste?"

"ROSALINE ISN'T CHEAP!" roared Tybalt. Lord Capulet leant back in his chair, as if Tybalt's angry breath has blown him backwards.

"Our Rosaline?"

Tybalt flushed red and bent his head "Yeah" he mumbled.

"For goodness heavens, why?" asked Lord Capulet.

" 'cause I'm having a party for her, and I wanted her to feel nice" Tybalt replied quietly, looking at his feet "She doesn't get many nice things"

"You like her, don't you?"

"What's it to you?" snapped Tybalt defensively.

"Nothing. I was just asking if you liked her"

"Of course I like her. She's..." Tybalt trailed off, unsure of what to say "She's already seeing someone"

Lord Capulet dumped the papers down on his desk "Why didn't you just ask for the money, you stupid boy?"

"I thought you'd tell me off"

"Don't be stupid. I'm angry that you went behind my back, but, never mind. I hope Rosaline likes her presents. You can go home now"

"Fine"


	16. Birthday Surprise!

Zelda12343 - Did you mean Tybalt or Lord C in the last bit of your review?

So, it's Rosaline's 16th birthday. And for today's chapter, Hermia is going to be very out of character.

* * *

><p>Hermia's birthday present to Rosaline was going to be beautiful. She watched the bitch, wearing a slinky red dress and with her nails painted to match, swanning around, sucking up to Tybalt, never mind the fact that Orlando was also here.<p>

Tybalt had been the one to throw this party for her. It was just typical. Rosaline always ganged up against Hermia with him. Hermia knew Tybalt hated her because she was a constant living reminder of the turmoil and scandals within his stupid precious Capulet family. Rosaline was just a jealous bitch who wanted to be a Capulet so she could be a capitalist without also being a hypocrite. Hermia was an outcast in this family, just a 'bit on the side' conceived in a steamy affair, and Rosaline and Tybalt loved nothing more than reminding her of the fact.

Hermia also knew that Rosaline was just playing with Romeo's heart, stringing him along for fun and probably laughing about him behind his back to Tybalt as she did so. Mercutio, Benvolio and Romeo rarely ever fell out, but that girl had caused them too. She had probably plotted this with Tybalt as well. This, Hermia was not happy about. They were the greatest group of friends she had. They were fun, and had virtually the same sense of humour as her. When her dad was being an oppressive douche bag, and her step-mum was being a cow and telling her off for getting all muddy after rugby practise, they were her refuge. And Benvolio was absolutely adorable. Yes.

Hermia didn't even claim to be a bitchy person. That was one of the reasons why she disliked Rosaline so much. She liked a good joke, a laugh, to be able to chill out, and preferred hanging out with boys to girls because of this. Girls always messed around with each other's heads and it drove her nuts. When she watched Mean Girls with Mercutio, she just couldn't help but think Rosaline was the Queen Bee, with all those evil schemes. Hermia likened herself and Mercutio to Janis and Damien!

But her revenge plan was so superbly bitchy that she just couldn't help but be proud of it. All it took, was for Orlando to walk out the room for a few moments. Boys loved Hermia, and Hermia was ready to take advantage of the fact.

And would luck have it, Orlando excused himself to go to toilet. Hermia waited, and then followed. She stood behind a bookshelf, sucked on her lower lip to give it more colour, as unlike _some_ people she did not wear make-up non-stop, hitched her dress down a little lower, and waited for him to come out. When he did, she stepped straight into his path.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" Hermia pretended to gasp "I didn't realize you were coming out. Are you hurt?"

"No, no" insisted Orlando "I should have seen where I was going. I'm sorry"

"No, no, I'm sorry. You're Rosaline's boyfriend, aren't you?"

"Yes" replied Orlando.

"But it's funny how close she is with Tybalt, isn't it?"

"Yeah...she explained to me how they were close as kids. That's cool. I'm cool with it. And he had a party for her, I guess. I mean, you don't break off friendships just for guys, do you?"

"Of course not" said Hermia, fluttering her eyelashes "I should know. I like guys"

"Yeah, I noticed"

"But do you know what type of guy I like?"

"What?" asked Orlando, playing along. There was a goofy kind of grin on his face. Hermia grinned back. This just got better and better.

"I like cute guys, with gorgeous brown eyes"

"I have brown eyes"

"Aha" said Hermia. She pressed her lips against his, and then pushed him against the wall. He didn't complain or push her off. Now all she had to do was wait for someone to come and find them. And as cake was about to be served, of course someone would come and find them. It didn't matter who it was – secrets were hard to keep in the Capulet family!

Back downstairs, Juliet, Tybalt and Rosaline had clustered together.

"Where's Hermia gone?" asked Juliet "This is her favourite song!"

"Who cares?" shrugged Tybalt.

"I care!" replied Juliet, batting him with the back of her hand.

"And so's Orlando" added Rosaline "He's also missing. We're having cake soon. Shall I go and look for them?"

"No, I'll go" said Tybalt.

"No, Tibby, don't worry about it. I'll go. I don't like this song. See you in a bit"

Lord Capulet, who had been watching the party with a vulture's eye, walked up to them and scowled "And if Hermia's up to her usual tricks, like, I don't know, drawing a penis on my bedroom door, just ignore her and get me"

Juliet snorted, but a glare from her mother silenced her.

Rosaline got up, and headed upstairs. It was quiet up here, and a lot cooler. Her ears felt a little numb from how loudly Tybalt was playing the music. Rosaline was flushed from the heat and dancing, and slowly her heart beat calmed down. Tybalt was a great dancer.

"Orlando?" she called "Orlando? Hermia? Are you up here?"

She didn't see them in the first couple of corridors, which increased her annoyance as she wanted her cake and attention now and she knew that it was highly likely Hermia was messing with her. So she started calling obscure things to hopefully draw Hermia out.

"Hermia? Bastard!" sang Rosaline, hoping to catch her attention "Where are you, you Montague-licking bastard?"

Rosaline turned the corner "Oh my..."

And there was Hermia and Orlando, pressed against the wall, kissing.


	17. Bitch Fight

Harley - Thanks! I'll reply to your email when I've got time.

Zelda12343 - Ah, silly me.

Uh oh, Hermia's just stolen Rosaline's boyfriend. Time for a mega bitch fight!

* * *

><p>"YOU SLUT!"<p>

Hermia broke off "That's for getting me in trouble, calling me a bastard, playing with Romeo's heart, and making Merc and the boys fall out!"

"Uhh..." moaned Orlando.

"Oh, and have your boyfriend back. I don't like him, anyway. I can't stand brown eyes. I prefer hazel" said Hermia, walking off.

Rosaline slapped Orlando, and chased after Hermia.

"How...how dare you!"

"Sorry" shrugged Hermia "But to be honest, you had it coming. You are a two-faced cow, you do know that, don't you? On one face it's all oh, poor little me, I grew up on an estate, and the other is cruel and calculating and seducing all the rich boys around here. That's what your boyfriends all have in common. Tybalt's rich, Orlando's quite well off, and Romeo's the richest. He's your latest conquest. I'm not dumb"

Hermia turned her back to Rosaline, and skipped off to the stairs.

"That's a lie! You're the one with all the boyfriends! You just want attention, all the time! I can't seem to think why. You cause trouble in our family, torment Tibby, shame your parents and just...urgh! I hate you!" screamed Rosaline "You're nothing but an unwanted bastard. Bastard, bastard, bastard! There! I said it! And a failed abortion! Tybalt has told me all about you! You killed your own mother, your step-dad took one look at you and threw up, which is why you have to live here. No one loves you, and no one wants you!"

"What did you say?" breathed Hermia, stepping forwards to Rosaline.

"You heard what I said. Don't play dumb with me. You may think I'm nothing but trailer trash, but growing up on an estate has made me strong"

"I said, what did you say?"

"I said you were nothing but an unwanted bastard!"

"I'm not a failed abortion!" Hermia cried, feeling hot liquid well up behind her eyes.

"That's why you're such a whore" sang Rosaline delightedly "Because no one wants you, you steal boyfriends, sleep with different guys, just to kid yourself someone cares about you. How sad. It won't work. No one wants you"

"People do want me!"

"Name me one!"

"Mercutio...and Benvolio...they like me"

"Oh, Montagues! Surprise, surprise! None of us Capulets want you here, so you hang out with Montagues instead. That is just so pathetic"

Fury took over Hermia's feelings of hurt and anguish, and she rapidly wiped away tears, rising with insults.

"You're pathetic! You wear cheap counterfeit clothes and pretend they're the real thing, because you're fake! All of you Oftmoros are fake! You are cheap trailer trash! And a chav! No wonder Angelo didn't want your ugly old mum anymore and traded her in for someone younger!" shouted Hermia. Her loud voice boomed around the Manor, and both of them knew that in spite of the music, downstairs everyone could hear them.

"Hey, stop it!" Orlando tried to command, slowly coming to his senses.

"Don't insult my mother like that!" roared Rosaline, storming closer and closer to Hermia, as they argued along the hall, getting closer to the top of the stairs for every screamed insult "She worked her butt off to bring us up! She actually cared about me, unlike yours, who had a heart attack because of what an ugly slag you turned out to be!"

"Ugly slag? Pa! Go look in the mirror. Get your family, and go look in a mirror. That's why Angelo left your mum, and it's why my dad slept with my mum, because he couldn't bear your insipid aunty! See! Your whole family sucks!"

"You little bitch" seethed Rosaline.

"Ha, ha!" cackled Hermia "Your dad would rather live with a fucking brat like Gabriel than you! Ha, ha! That's what I say to you. Ha, ha, ha!"

"You slut!" screamed Rosaline, lunging. Hermia leapt forwards to grab at her, and snatched a handful of her hair. Rosaline screeched in pain and wrestled against her vicelike grip.

"Put her down, bastard!" bellowed Tybalt from the bottom of the stairs. The guests and the Capulets had gathered around, and were watching horrified.

"This slut just made out with my boyfriend!" hollered Rosaline.

"You deserved it, messing with Romeo's head" hissed Hermia. She staggered under Rosaline's weight, and then tripped. Both girls shrieked, tumbling down, as their entire family and guests watched on in horror. Hermia was first to land, and Rosaline fell down on top of her. Rosaline groaned. Immediately Tybalt ran to her aid and pulled her up, and Juliet ran to Hermia's.

"Ros, Ros, you all right? Did she hurt you? Fucking bastard! Get out, we don't want you!"

Hermia cried in pain, clutching at her arm. It was suddenly bent and twisted in a funny angle. Juliet had pulled her upright into her arms. When she saw the extent of the damage, her eyes widened in horror "Oh my God, you broke her arm!" she fretted "Call an ambulance!"

"You stupid pair of girls" snarled Lord Capulet, bending over Hermia as groaned in pain. Juliet clung to her, as her eyes settled on Rosaline.

"I do want Hermia" she hissed at Rosaline "She's my sister"

"Enough!" said Lady Capulet "This is a disaster"

"Kick Hermia out!" commanded Tybalt.

"Shut up, chav!" snarled Juliet, stroking Hermia's hair from her face and trying to calm her "That was your fault, that was attempted murder!" she spat at Rosaline.

"Juliet, what have I told you about ladylike behaviour?" Lady Capulet sniped.


	18. Unexpected Places

Oreoskidz - Well, she's not Gabriel's sister for no reason! That the second person I've almost made cry in this series.

Zelda12343 - She did leave Lord C for being too old in Child Swap...methinks the Oftmoros have bitchiness in their genes.

So two of Verona's feistiest girls have had a fight and Hermia's come off worse. Does Rosaline feel guilty? And also, in this chapter I am mentioning a Capulet who is not mine, but an OC of Cornadopia's. Seriously, if you haven't already, read and review her story Mercutio And Allegra! It's my favourite fanfic on here, and you will not regret it.

* * *

><p>"It wasn't your fault" Tybalt told the sobbing girl beside him "She was to blame. She tripped. It wasn't your fault"<p>

"She said horrible things about my mum. She deserved what she got. I just hope I'm not in any trouble, that's why I'm crying" Rosaline leant her head against his hoodie, letting her tears damped them material.

"No. You won't be. She bloody deserved it for saying that shit, anyway. I know how you feel" said Tybalt, stroking her blonde hair. He did know how it felt. How many times had he been called the mad woman's son? How many times had he been called the convict's son? He knew what that was like. He and Rosaline were so similar. They'd had hard childhoods and grown up with absentee fathers – Tybalt's was in prison and Angelo had just popped up out the blue.

He continued to stroke her hair, and murmured soothingly "Don't feel too bad about it, either, Ros. I mean, if I threw Romeo down the stairs, would I feel bad? No"

"She said about how I was trailer trash, called me a chav and said I wore cheap counterfeit clothes. And she...she stole my boyfriend! I mean, I know it wasn't anything serious between us, I didn't even care about him that much, but still, I couldn't help but...and she said I deserved it for screwing with Romeo's head. I don't want anything to do with him, he's a disgusting Montague! Did I deserve that?"

"No" said Tybalt firmly "Orlando doesn't deserve you. You have your whole life ahead of you. You aren't a chav. You just try to fit in with all the rest of us on the estate. I'm the one who's a chav. You're smart, beautiful, and destined for great things. Hermia is the jealous one. She's just a whore. You know what? All those boys she hangs out with, yeah, well, by the time she's sixteen or seventeen, she'll probably be pregnant and not know who the father is"

Tybalt chuckled to himself at his own joke. Rosaline giggled along with him.

"Don't let your early life hold you back. Ignore anyone who says crap to you like that. The sky is the limit. Go for it" encouraged Tybalt.

"You really think so?"

"I know so" nodded Tybalt "I know things are rough right now, what with Angelo turning up, and meeting someone as weird as Gabriel, but you will make it. I see you and what you're capable of, and it's amazing. I just wish I could be like that sometimes"

"You could"

"No, I couldn't" Tybalt ran his hand through her hair again, and held her tighter. He looked up at the evening sky. There was a light drizzle now. Hermia, Lord Capulet and Juliet were at the hospital having Hermia's arm tended too. Orlando had, very obviously, scarpered. The rest of his family were inside, clearing up. He and Rosaline had retreated outside to talk in private.

"I don't get why she's so hateful. It's like, we've always argued with her and it's always been us against her, but I just don't get how it's escalated so badly. Sometimes, I wonder what is going through Hermia's mind. Do you think she really hates your family and just wants to wind them up?"

"No idea"

"Why would she do half the things she does to your family? Like drive you nuts and stuff. Why isn't she grateful they took her in, when they could have just shoved her in a Care Home and forgotten about her? I wish they had"

"I have no idea" Tybalt shook his head "If she was gone, this family would be so much better off"

"I love your family, I honestly do. I wish I was part of it, instead of being a damn in-law. I wish I was a Capulet. I wish I was part of a big family like you. All I have is a gender-confused bratty half-brother who I'm sure hates me, a dickheaded douche bag of a father, my mum who struggles alone to pay the bills, and Livia who just doesn't get it. I wish I was like you, because you have support whenever you need it. Why did it have to work out this way?"

"It's all right, Ros"

"It's not fair!" Rosaline screeched at the sky.

"I know, I know" murmured Tybalt, slowly rocking her "It's not that easy in my family, trust me. I can't stand my cousin Allegra. I wish we could throw both her and Hermia out. Do you remember when I had to live under the same roof as Hermia for a couple of months whilst mum was in hospital? That was hard. I don't always get support. I know how you feel, growing up with just your mum. Don't let Hermia get to you"

"Well, you can talk" sniffed Rosaline.

"I know! But you're better than me. Rise above her"

Rosaline wiped a tear away, and swallowed "What would I do without you, Tibby?"

Tybalt wiped the remaining tears away with his thumb, took her face in his hands, and then kissed her on her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, and then her lips.

"We've always been close" he whispered in her ear "We've always taken care of each other. Could it be...you and me, Rosaline?"

Rosaline cupped his cheek in her hand, and kissed him on the lips again. Her breath came out in thick, heavy sobs "Sometimes...love finds you quickly and in the most obvious but unexpected places"


	19. Poor Old Hermywa

Zelda12343 - You know, I never thought about it that way before! Yeah!

Our boy Tibby and our girl Ros have had a little kiss and a cuddle. Wonder how poor old Hermia is doing. Also, Allegra is mentioned again. She is not mine, she's Cornadopia's OC. If you haven't already, read and review her fanfic, Mercutio and Allegra! It is awesome!

* * *

><p>"Hermia, you have a couple of visi-"<p>

"Oh my God! Hermy-wa!" shrieked Mercutio, pushing past a nurse "What did she do to you?"

"Only bloody shoved me down the stairs" groaned Hermia "Look at my cast"

At least ten other boys gathered in the room after Mercutio. Benvolio was present, as was Hermia's current crush, Lysander.

"Are you all right?" he asked, settling down on the bed next to her.

"I'll live. Hey, you lot can all write rude rhymes and draw dicks on it in a minute!"

The boys cheered. Lysander fluffed up her pillows, and then handed her a box of her favourite chocolates.

"For me?" asked Hermia.

"Yep. You deserve them. And a little birdie called Juliet told me they were your favourites. Did she hurt you much?"

"Oh, the usual. The same old bastard insult"

The other boys moaned and grumbled amongst themselves.

"What else?" asked Adam.

"She said shit about my mum having a heart attack because I was so ugly, and about my step-dad throwing up when he saw me. Just loads of bitchy girl crap. Nothing I can't deal with" shrugged Hermia.

"Well, next time she calls you anything like that, you tell her this. Eva Peron was a bastard!" Mercutio instructed, settling down in the visitor's chair "And so was William the Conqueror, Leonardo da Vinci, Larry Ellison, the fifth richest person in the world. I don't get why it's such a big deal. I mean, loads of people don't have married parents. And it's not like your family are religious or anything, especially considering that Tybalt can't read so it's not like he's ever heard of the bible"

"It's because," Hermia explained, sitting upright with Lysander's support "It's because Eugene was married to that stupid step-mum of mine when I got made. I'm like a slap in the face to the oh-so great and oh-so grand and oh-so dignified Capulet family. Plus I hang out with you guys. And I wouldn't change a thing about that. You're awesome"

The boys cheered.

"The Capulets suck so bad. I mean like, they don't have fun, they're just mean to people all the time! Besides you, I can't think of a single nice member of your family" complained Mercutio.

"Juliet's sweet" said Hermia "And I would so love for you to meet Allegra"

"Who's Allegra?" asked Mercutio.

"She's my cousin" explained Hermia "She's only about eleven but last year, I bought some itching powder, gave it to her in reward for not telling Eugene that I ate the all the Oreos again, and she tipped it down Tybalt's trousers! It was hilarious. He kept scratching, and now he has a scar on his arse!"

"Ha!" chortled Mercutio "What a great kid"

"So" said Adam "What are you going to do to get Rosaline back?"

"I don't know yet" admitted Hermia "I've been here a day and I haven't thought of anything yet. Rosaline and Orlando have obviously broken up. I think that making out with her boyfriend is sufficient punishment so far, don't you?"

"But she's single now" Benvolio added "Now she's single...well, Romeo is going to fall right into the trap. He'll think she'll want to date him!"

"Oh, crap!" cursed Hermia.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of him, won't we, Benny? I don't know what to do either but...never mind. Let's just concentrate on you getting better" said Mercutio.

"And if Tybalt tries anything, then we'll all protect you, won't we, boys?" said Balthasar. The boys cheered again. Hermia smiled. This was what she loved. These boys were so caring, so affectionate. They genuinely liked her and were so different to the girl friends she had had in the past. They'd do anything for her. She felt like their little sister. Was this like being part of a family?

"What on earth is this?" was the unmistakably grumpy voice of Lord Capulet. Hermia rolled her eyes.

"Hiya, Eugene!" greeted Mercutio.

"My name is Egues! And you will refer to me as Lord Capulet or else! So stop calling me Eugene!"

"Sorry" sulked Mercutio sarcastically. The rest of the boys sniggered at him. Everybody laughed at Mercutio. Everybody loved him, too!

"How are you feeling?" asked Lord Capulet.

"Fine" replied Hermia.

Lord Capulet tutted "It was your own fault, stealing Rosaline's boyfriend like that. And I was especially disappointed in you, saying such nasty things to her. You are fourteen years old, Hermia. It's about high time you grew up and started acting like a lady. And you boys can all clear out of here. Oi! Montague! Get out!"

"Bye Hermia" said Benvolio, walking out the door.

"Thanks for the toffees!" yelled Hermia after him. He gave her a thumbs up. Hermia settled back against the pillow "He's a nice guy, Benvolio"

"He's not nice – he's a bloody Montague!" snapped Lord Capulet "Right. As for the rest of you, you can all go home. I want to talk to Hermia in private"

"Bye Hermia" said the boys defeated.

"See you. Thanks for the chocolates and flowers! Oh, Lysander, come back here a minute"

"Why?"

"Come here. I want to tell you something"

Hermia grabbed his arm with her good hand, pulled his face level with hers and smooched him, right on the lips in front of Lord Capulet. Mercutio cheered, and the rest of the boys followed suit. Hermia released him and could swear there were stars in his eyes.

"I'm free on Saturdays!" shouted Hermia as they left.

"Hermia" scolded Lord Capulet.

"Ok, give me your lecture, yadda yadda"

"Don't give me that attitude! I'm sick of you causing friction in my family. It's tearing us all apart, especially when we all need to stick together in the face of hard times. And the Montagues"

"What's so bad about Montagues? Romeo and Benvolio are lovely!"

"They're not lovely. They're Montagues!" shouted Lord Capulet.

"Whatever" said Hermia. God, she wished she could get out of here! Get out of Verona, get out of her family, and head for the mountains, the sea, even the stinky old sewage system! Anywhere that wouldn't mean she had to follow all her family's stupid pointless rules that didn't make any sense.

"I know you find it hard to fit in" Lord Capulet went on "But bad behaviour, fighting, stealing boyfriends and hanging out with Montagues is not the right way to go about it. When you are upset, you go to your room, and have five minutes to calm down. You're getting as bad as Tybalt! I don't understand why you two fight so much"

"Because he's a douche! He's so mean! He bullies people, and deals crack!"

"He is not a drugs dealer! How many times have I gone over this!"

"He is a drug dealer! His eyes are yellow"

"They're grey, you silly girl. Stop winding him up, and he might start being nice to you. If he and Juliet can get on beautifully, then so can you. Right. They're discharging you soon. When we get home, you can write a letter of apology to Rosaline for stealing her boyfriend, and to my wife for saying all those rude things about her family"


	20. Tybalt's Crappy Car

Zelda12343 - Yep, that's the Capulets all over!

Hermia and Lysander have got together, although we all know what happens to them. Wonder what Ros and Tibby are up to.

* * *

><p>"Rosaline, could you stay behind a moment?" asked her maths teacher. Rosaline sighed. It was last period, and if she didn't leave now, she'd miss her train and have to walk home in the dark. Which sucked.<p>

"What is it, Mr. Bastien?" asked Rosaline.

"I just wanted to talk to you about your mock exam result"

"It was an A*" said Rosaline.

"Exactly. From the moment you started this school, you have shone with promise. I think you should consider taking this subject at A Level, and then at university. There are so many career paths this could take you. I have never seen a girl with such talent"

"Thank you, sir" said Rosaline. Truth be told, she didn't want to have to sit in a classroom of disgusting nerds. It was social suicide. Rosaline had an image to maintain. Shari and Kaila were leaving at the end of this year to go to do whatever chav girls her age did. Got boyfriends. Got pregnant. Got benefits. Kids did not appeal to Rosaline at all. Being stuck in a squalid flat with five of them made her feel quite sick. She wanted out.

"You should consider-"

BANG!

Rosaline ran to the window. Tybalt was standing on a bench, laughing at something. She peered out further. He and his mates were setting fireworks off outside the chemistry department.

"That boy" growled Mr. Bastien "He is nothing but trouble"

Rosaline wanted to laugh. It thrilled her when Tybalt did naughty stuff. Even thought she mostly bickered with him about his troublemaking, she'd always liked a bad boy. A smirked formed on her lips.

"That boy is sexy when he's being naughty" uttered Rosaline, barely believing that she was saying the words.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said...That boy is SEXY when he's being naughty!" Rosaline sang daringly.

"That boy is nothing but trouble!" scolded Mr. Bastien.

"Well, see you later" Rosaline grabbed her stuff and was out of the door before he could scold her further. Tybalt was in the process of lighting another one when she began to walk up to him. He darted away and leapt onto the bench as it exploded.

"Shame we can't see the colours in the daylight, Tibby" said Rosaline, standing behind him.

"Hey, Ros!" greeted Tybalt, jumping off the bench to talk to her "Mr. Goner had a go at Sam for not doing his coursework. So we're giving him a heart attack. Look, there he is!"

He pointed at Mr. Goner cowering by the window.

"Ha!" chortled Rosaline. Sam walked over to Tybalt.

"Light another one, mate!"

Tybalt threw a lighter at Sam "Nah, you do it. My girl's here now. And anyway, I can't be bothered with Mr. Bastien having a go at me as well"

Rosaline glanced over her shoulder, and Mr. Bastien was staring out the window angrily. Several other teachers were slowly coagulating by the exit, ready to come and tell them off. The chavs scattered. Tybalt wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they headed out of the gates quickly. Rosaline let him led her. It felt so nice to have his arm around her. Tybalt led her down an alley to a smashed up old Vauxhall Nova.

"This is my car" said Tybalt, unlocking the front door. He unlocked the passenger seat and held it open for her.

"Do you have a license?" asked Rosaline.

"Nope" said Tybalt.

"And your seventeenth birthday isn't until May?"

"Yep" said Tybalt.

"Should you be driving at all?"

"Who cares?" shrugged Tybalt "I drive way better than half my mates do. And anyway, I can't have my girl walking home in the dark and the cold"

"You're such a gentleman"

"I have my moments" Tybalt shut the door, and climbed in the driver's seat. He slammed shut that door, and the car wobbled precariously. Rosaline sniffed. The car stunk. It was some horrible mixture of unwashed boy, petrol, cigarettes, and something else.

"Tibby, this car stinks. And it's wobbling. What if it breaks down?"

"It doesn't stink. And if it breaks down I'll call the AA or the RAC"

"Who will find out that you are underage, don't have a license, and get you arrested"

"Then I'll have to fix it myself" said Tybalt "Case closed. Come on, I'm taking you for a spin. How about a tour of Verona?"

"As if I haven't seen it before" scoffed Rosaline. Tybalt ignored her, switched on the ignition, and the car jerked into life. Tybalt drove down the end of the alley and out into the streets. True to his word, he wasn't a bad driver, but the car was so bumpy it felt worse than it really was. They sped around roads, casually nearly ran over a granny, casually almost killed some children, and when Tybalt reached the motorway he sped up more.

"How fast are you going?" shouted Rosaline.

"Faster than 80!" yelled Tybalt, switching on the music. Rosaline whooped, and sat up in her seat. This was exhilarating! Being with a bad boy like Tybalt always made her feel like she was on a high. Like she was spinning and falling, and it was so good.

Lord Montague's car drew level with them. Rosaline goggled.

"Tybalt, look left!"

"Why?" he turned and looked "Hey, look who's in the passenger seat!"

"Romeo" Rosaline mimicked vomiting.

Tybalt turned up the music even louder, and drove even faster. Rosaline's heart beat wildly. This was so mad, so bad, so crazy. Tybalt honked at the car, and she giggled helplessly. They'd been spotted. Tybalt's eyes locked on the road as other drivers beeped at him. The car was zooming out of control. Rosaline did not know what would happen next, but it thrilled her. Tybalt could get in heaps and heaps of trouble for this. He was already on the verge of being expelled and he had a criminal record. Her life was in his hands. He could crash any minute now. It was a frightening thought really.

But he thrilled her. And there was nothing she would change about that.


	21. Bonnie And Clyde

Zelda12343 - Funny, Rosaline mentions them in this chapter.

Tibby and Ros are falling for each other fast. Let's see what they're doing after the crazy car chase.

* * *

><p>Darkness settled over Verona, and Rosaline sat on the bonnet of Tybalt's car, her knees either side of his waist.<p>

"That was so scary"

"You loved it" teased Tybalt. He leant forwards and kissed her deeply on the lips.

"You thrill me" admitted Rosaline "You scare me and thrill me and I love it. I need you"

"And I need you" agreed Tybalt "When things get too out of control. I need you. Perfect match"

He placed his hand against hers. The air was still cold, as it was only early March. Their breath came out in foggy torrents, before mingling and fading away. Rosaline could fell the heat from his breath, and the heat from his touch.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" asked Tybalt.

"Oh, I don't know" said Rosaline, with a fancy gesture of her hand.

"Really?"

"I suppose"

"I can change that. Fancy coming out with me for a bit?"

"Sure. Where are we going?"

"Surprise" said Tybalt, gazing off into the night.

"Are we robbing a bank?"

"You wish!"

They laughed, and then settled back down again.

"People say you're no good for me" said Rosaline, leaning her head against his shoulder "Mr. Bastien earlier, he called you a troublemaker. You know what I said to him?"

"What?"

Rosaline leant over and whispered it in his ear.

"You didn't!"

"I did! Ask him if you don't believe me. Unless he's still too shocked out of his wits to answer you. But then, I bet you've probably said worse to him. Like when you threatened to kill your geography teacher and got suspended for a week"

Tybalt snorted "Remember when I pulled the fire alarm to get out of a maths test? And when I was banned from the PE department for throwing a shot putt through the window of the office?"

"I'll never forget it. You're my bad boy. You're my Clyde to my Bonnie"

She caressed his cheek, feeling the stubble. So he wasn't the nicest guy around. So he wasn't the smartest, or the cleanest. Did it matter? He was no good for her, and he would get her into trouble. He would drag her down from her post at the top of the school and everything she had worked for so far would be gone. But bit by bit, she was starting to stop caring.

Tybalt pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and then started inhaling.

"Want some?"

"Why not?"

Rosaline took the toxic stick, and inhaled. She pulled it away, coughing. Tybalt took it, laughing.

"You've never smoked before, have you?"

"No" admitted Rosaline, wheezing "But now I can say I have tried. I ought to live a little. Let my hair down"

"That's my girl"

"If only Sister Agnes and Mr. Bastien could see me now" mused Rosaline "I'm sick of it. All the stupid assumptions. Not meaning to be cheesy or anything, but I am me. I hate the way they criticize people like you, or people like Shari and Kaila, saying that they are trailer trash and chavs, when I come from the same background. What makes me different? Same lifestyle, same upbringing. Why do they keep sucking up to me?"

"Because you won't settle for less. You're not happy with what happens with the rest of the girls you live near. I like your ambition. It's so refreshing to see a girl who knows her own mind"

"Really? You've dated some total drips in your time" remarked Rosaline.

"Yeah, only 'cause I could get a fuck out of them" Tybalt replied honestly. He knew she'd understand. He had no idea what he was feeling for her, just that it was different to anything he'd ever felt before. Sure, he'd felt lust, he liked sex. But that was a pulsing below the waist. Now he felt a fluttering in his chest. He felt himself pulled towards this girl, not because of her tits or her arse, which although very nice, did not compete with her mind. She could stand up to him and not piss him off doing so. She talked to him like an equal, not like some girl who just wanted the reputation of being his girlfriend. And they were just compatible. All those other whores he'd slept with, there was always something he didn't like about them. Irritating nasal voice, horribly applied crusty make-up, bony legs, but Rosaline was just...perfect.

"You're different. There's something about you..."

They kissed again, even though this time they both tasted like ash.

"Eww" grimaced Rosaline.

"You're going to have to get used to it. I'm not going to stop smoking just for some girl!"

"You just said I was different!"

"Nothing comes between me and my cigarettes!"

"Bad boy"

"You love it"

Even though they bickered, it only ever made them feel stronger about each other. Secretly, they both that they both liked the bickering.

"That's true. I love you, my Tibby"

"And I love you, my Ros"

It was the first time either of them had ever told each other, let alone another person, that they loved each other.


	22. Family Dinner

Zelda12343 - That review came just as I was getting ready to post!

I'm mentioning a pal of Tybalt's called Simon who doesn't belong to me, he belongs to Cornadopia from Merc and All.

* * *

><p>Hermia's casted arm was a constant reminder of the girl's fight the next time the Capulets and their extended family gathered together. Mercutio had signed his name with capital letters and lots of kisses, as well as a drawing of a certain part of the male anatomy. Rosaline simply glared at her as she picked at it. Juliet sat between the two girls, wondering what on earth to say to them both. She didn't particularly like Rosaline because of the way she sucked up to Tybalt all the time or how she bullied her sister.<p>

"We are going to sit down" said Lord Capulet "And have dinner together. With no fighting, no arguing, and no mentioning of the Montagues. Understand?"

"Yes, Uncle Egues" muttered Tybalt. His mother sat next to him. She was looking better today, which was a relief.

They leant over their food in silence.

"So, kids, how's school?" asked Camilla.

"Crap" answered Tybalt.

"Boring" replied Hermia.

"Ok" shrugged Juliet.

"Not bad" mused Livia.

"Very well, thanks mum" said Rosaline.

"Why's it crap, Tybalt? Have you got in trouble again?" asked Lord Capulet.

"Yeah" mumbled Tybalt.

"What did you do this time?" asked Juliet.

"I shoved someone's head down the loo and flushed it. And no, before anyone asks, it wasn't Benvolio, it was someone else"

"I said, no mentioning of the Montagues" growled Lord Capulet.

"Well, everyone has signed my cast and Mercutio drew me a picture of a penis" Hermia pointed it out.

"That is completely inappropriate" scowled Lord Capulet.

"It's funny!" protested Hermia.

"When are you ever going to grow up?"

"What, and end up like you? Urgh, no chance"

"He said there was to be no arguing" sniped Lady Capulet.

"Yes. That's correct. Hermia, be quiet. Well, Juliet, Rosaline, how about you two? You're both civilised young ladies. I don't expect to hear any of that disgusting behaviour from you two"

Lady Capulet sat up a little higher "Rosaline's teacher has asked her to be a speaker at the upcoming Chastity Ball"

Tybalt snorted, and quickly covered it up by taking a long drink from his glass of water. His left hand was resting on Rosaline's thigh under the table.

Hermia made a gagging noise. Lady Capulet scowled at her step-daughter.

"Oh, really? What's going to happen then?"

"Sister Agnes cornered me in the corridor and said she thought I should go, and make a speech. She says I could become Head Girl someday and that I'd be a good role model" explained Rosaline. Lord Capulet glowed with pride when she mentioned Head Girl. Regina beamed with delight.

"Oooh, you'd make a lovely Head Girl! I tell Tibby he ought to be Head Boy, since he's so popular and such a hard worker, even though he's not the best of them" cooed Regina.

The Capulets just glanced at each other. There was not a chance in hell Tybalt would ever be Head Boy. And he knew it. Eventually, Lord Capulet spoke up.

"That's great news about Head Girl – although I've never seen the point in these Chastity Balls. Parading around, making public declarations of something that should be private"

"I agree...but Sister Agnes asked me and I want to keep a good reputation at school. It doesn't mean anything. It's just words"

"Oooh" said Hermia, waggling her fingers.

"That's enough" snapped Lady Capulet. Hermia frowned to herself. That woman made her life hell for something that wasn't even her fault. Stupid cow.

"Sister Agnes called me an animal" grumbled Tybalt.

"I love Sister Agnes" replied Hermia.

"She called you a what?" asked Lord Capulet angrily. Tybalt sat up, delightedly.

"An animal" Tybalt repeated, for dramatic effect.

"Right" snapped Lord Capulet "I'll be on the phone to your school to complain about their treatment of you. Did you do anything to provoke it?"

"Nope"

"Even better. What they've got against you, I just don't know"

Hermia coughed "He set a bin on fire on his first day!"

"That was Simon!" hissed Tybalt.

"How's Simon, Tybalt? I haven't seen him lately" asked Lord Capulet.

"Fine" answered Tybalt.

"What is it with you kids? Everything is always fine when we ask you questions about yourself" said Camilla.

"Must be their age!" Regina chuckled "Tibby never tells me anything, do you sweetipops?"

"No mum" replied Tybalt, but secretly he was thrilled to bits that she was calling him 'sweetipops' again. It meant she was feeling better. It meant she'd be back to her usual irritating self before long.

"Mummy wouldn't want to hear what her little Tibby's latest criminal activity has been anyway" Hermia muttered.

"What are you planning on doing tonight?" asked Lord Capulet "I have work to get on with, but what about everyone else here?"

"I'm going out with my mates" replied Tybalt.

"See? He's so popular, my Tibby" clucked Regina.

"I've done most my homework anyway" said Rosaline.

"You can come with me if you want" said Tybalt "We're going to Sam's, you know Sam, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm friends with his sister Kaila. I've been to a party at his house before. You were there, weren't you?"

"I was. That was the one where Greg made smores in the kitchen and then threw them over the fence at the neighbours because no one would eat them!"

Rosaline laughed "That was a funny night. We had such a laugh!"

"Mercutio made smores and tried to see how many he could cram in his mouth" snorted Hermia.

"That boy" grumbled Lord Capulet "It's so hard to believe that Paris is such a respectable young man, when his cousin is a complete and utter badly behaved freak!"

"Mercutio's not a freak!" argued Hermia.

"Yes, he is. Juliet, you get on well with Paris, don't you?"

"Yes. They do. They'd make such a cute couple, don't you think?" suggested Rosaline. Tybalt chortled with laughter as Juliet went red.

"He's ok" said Juliet.

"He'd make a good boyfriend" added Lady Capulet.

"Paris is not boyfriend material. He once bought a man eating plant" scoffed Hermia.

"Who told you that?" asked Rosaline.

"Gabriel"

"I wouldn't believe anything he says" Rosaline rolled her eyes.

"No, but it's still funny. Did you hear about the time" Hermia broke off to laugh "The time he..." she cackled some more "The time he told everyone about how Chiron sat on a pair of hair straighteners and had to go to A&E and couldn't sit down for a week?"

Both Juliet and Livia giggled along with her, whilst Tybalt and Rosaline rolled their eyes.

"When's dessert?" asked Tybalt.

"Soon" replied Lord Capulet.

"Good, 'cause I want to get out of here soon. I'm bored stiff and my leg has cramp"

"Tibby, remember your manners" said Regina.

"I can't help it if my leg has cramp! And anyway, I'll be late"

"Oh, I can't have you missing your fun with your friends" Regina wavered.

"Fine, you can leave" said Lord Capulet.

"Great. Ros, get your coat"

"I can come?"

"Sure"

"Mum, is that ok with you?"

"I don't mind. Have fun"


	23. Night Fight

Sorry for the delay, had to get two English essays done. Another appearance from Simon, he's not mine, he's Cornadopia's.

* * *

><p>The chavs swaggered down the road, parading along as if they owned the place. Tybalt was naturally at the head of the crew, with his mate Simon by his side. Petruchio was at his other side, Sam and Greg were behind them, and Aaron walked at the back of the boys. Right at the back walked Shari and Kaila with Rosaline in between them. This was generally the way they walked when they were all together, by some sort of code. Sometimes, Rosaline would walk by Tybalt's side, but she and the other girls were wearing heels so they couldn't walk as quickly as the boys.<p>

"Oi, Ty, mate, what we doing tonight?" jeered Greg.

"I dunno" shrugged Tybalt.

"We should go and chuck bricks through some prick's window" suggested Aaron.

"Nah, I've got a better idea" said Tybalt "Let's try and sneak in Anthony Montague's nightclub!"

His mates cheered. There was nothing they loved more than causing trouble, and bonus points if it meant causing trouble with the Montagues! Tybalt was the perfect leader for them, since he hated the Montagues more than anything else in the world and would pull out all the stops to cause chaos for them. Tybalt's friends hated the Montagues because they were chavs and it was just something to do with their pointless lives.

"Let's go!" cried Shari. They turned around, and started heading to downtown Verona where most of the nightlife was. Anthony Montague owned a nightclub, as well as being a partner in a couple of other business ventures, namely bookies and cinemas.

Tybalt hung back from his mates, and wrapped his arm around Rosaline.

"You look cold"

"Not anymore" Rosaline purred.

"What's all this I hear about some Chastity Ball or something?" asked Simon.

Rosaline rolled her eyes "Oh, that load of crap?"

The boys guffed in appreciation.

"Sister Agnes is making her do it" explained Kaila.

"She said she'd be Head Girl if she did" added Shari, as they climbed over a wall. The girls staggered in their heels. Tybalt steadied Rosaline, and they shared a glance and a little smile.

"Sister Agnes is a whore" grumbled Greg "I bet she wears Ann Summer's under her habit"

The chavs snorted, and continued on their way. It was a Saturday evening, and so they knew the club would be packed. Even better. They could cause their trouble and scarper without getting caught. Never mind waiting in line at the door. Tybalt led them around to a fire escape, and shoved it open with his brute strength. Rosaline admired him doing so, and then one by one they filtered into the club. Anthony wasn't anywhere to be seen, so Tybalt bought them all drinks with his credit card. They sat down together and started to drink them. Slowly, a buzz generated around the group, and they were laughing and jeering loudly. Rosaline was sprawled across Tybalt's lap, and the other boys all looked at him enviously.

Petruchio had pulled out his phone and was filming "We're here in Midnight, Anthony Montague's nightclub, and we are the Capulets! Whey! Capulets! Capulets!"

"I'm the Capulet around here" growled Tybalt "And so's Rosaline. You are just my mates"

"Yeah, and that means we're Capulets too! We're a gang, bruv"

"I'm just your aunty's sister's daughter" Rosaline added.

"No, you're more than that. You're Capulet through and through" Tybalt leant forwards and locked his lips with hers. His mates cheered.

"Have you fucked yet?" asked Simon.

"What?" asked Rosaline.

"No, of course not, she's one of Verona's Belles" joked Aaron.

"That's a lie. She said so herself" Petruchio added.

"What I do with my girl is none of your business" grunted Tybalt.

"Whey!" the chavs yelled.

"Tybalt's getting eggy!" teased Simon.

"Don't piss me off, mate" growled Tybalt.

"Oooh!" the chavs shouted.

"That's enough noise from you lot"

Anthony Montagues stood in front of the table, his hands on his waist. Rosaline quickly sat up and slid off Tybalt's lap.

"I think it's time you left"

"No way, mate, we're just getting the party started!" declared Simon.

"You are underage" scolded Anthony "You should not be in a nightclub at all. And secondly, you are Capulets. I do not allow Capulets in my nightclub. Not since your brute of a father-" he paused to jab a finger in Tybalt's direction "killed my oldest and closest friend"

"Don't look at me like that, I didn't do anything" snapped Tybalt.

"Hmph! You act just like the bastard, I have to add. Get out. Or I'll call security" threatened the man. Rosaline looked at him. He was twice Tybalt's size, with strong broad shoulders, a tall stature, and muscled arms.

Tybalt stood up "What did you say about my dad?" he hissed.

"I said he was a bastard who killed my best friend!"

Tybalt leant in close "He deserved it. Fucking pig"

"Get out!" roared Anthony.

"No" refused Tybalt, sitting back down again.

"I said, get out!"

"Make me" mocked Tybalt, crossing his arms "I'll do what I want"

Anthony reached forwards, and seized Tybalt by the shoulders and tried to drag him out. Tybalt wasn't having any of it, and so he punched the man in the face. Rosaline gasped, but then realized this wasn't actually that shocking. Tybalt always fought with Montagues. He'd called Mercutio homophobic names, shoved Benvolio's head down a loo and flushed it, punched Romeo for being Romeo. Then she gasped again. The Montague boys were _boys_. They were all younger than Tybalt. Anthony Montague was a grown man. Tybalt was strong and a devilish fighter, but could he take on a grown man, especially someone who worked out at the gym as often as Anthony?

"Get him, mate!" yelled Simon "Give him what he had coming!"

"Kill him!" jeered Petruchio. Tybalt and Anthony wrestled, and neither appeared to be winning.

"Go on, Tibby!" shrieked Rosaline. Tybalt struggled, flipped Anthony around and tried to pin him against the table. Anthony was too tough to pin, and so he shoved Tybalt around. The bouncers hurried over, and tried to pull Tybalt off of Anthony.

"Get him out of my club!" thundered Anthony "Get them all out!"

The bouncers picked them all up, marched them to the door, and tossed them out. It had taken three of them to hold down Tybalt, who wriggled and fought against them all to the very end. They threw them out in the street.

"Go home" they commanded.

"Now what?" asked Shari.

"We could go back to mine" suggested Greg "My parents are out for the weekend. I've got loads of booze and some weed. Let's really get the party started!"


	24. Gossip Boys

Zelda12343 - Yeah, it was. I mentioned it in Child Swap at first as a kind of 'history repeats itself' motif thing.

Today, I am entreating you to Gabriel having a gossip. You lucky devils. Does anyone actually like him? Did anyone ever like him? Just curious.

* * *

><p>Monday morning was hell for any teenager who had spent the weekend living it up. Tybalt hadn't gone home at all after he and Rosaline had had dinner with his family. He staggered into the boys' loos to throw up as soon as he arrived, and then slumped on the seat with his head against the wall of the cubicle, feeling very sorry for himself.<p>

The door opened, amidst a flurry of giggles. It was Gabriel and Juno.

"So I told her, yes you did" Juno gossiped "And then she said, no I didn't. And I said, yes you did!"

"That's disgusting!" giggled Gabriel. Tybalt heard him slam his bag down on the sink "I am having such a bad hair day! My straighteners are getting all old, but Angelo won't give me any money to buy a new pair because I 'borrowed' his laptop and sent rude emails to the Duke of Mantua. I don't know why he's so mad, I mean, it's nothing that retard Mercutio wouldn't have done"

"You have lovely hair" sighed Juno enviously "I wish mine was as blond as yours"

"Don't be daft. You'd look silly with blond hair. And anyway, sometimes I debate dying my hair black just to look all gothic and annoy Angelo"

"No, no! Your hair is so unique! I don't know anyone else with that shade of platinum blond!"

Tybalt rolled his eyes.

"How are things going with him?" asked Juno.

"Fuck Angelo" replied Gabriel bitterly.

"Ok..." said Juno nervously. Gabriel sighed, and patted his hair into place. Juno coughed.

"How's it going with Tin Grin's girlfriend?" Juno asked again. Tybalt heard the sound of his bag unzipping, a pop of an eyeliner being opened, and then Gabriel tapping with his phone to play some music.

"Good, actually" replied Gabriel, his tone considerably lighter. Something poppy and catchy began to play "She thinks it's lovely that I'm a dancer. And she liked her present"

Juno giggled some more "You sent another boy's girlfriend a necklace! And then you went out together! Gabriel, you're such a whore!"

"I like her" Gabriel replied quietly "And she likes me back. Well, it would be wonderful if she did. It's Brace Face's fault for being in the way in the first place. Stupid ugly camel-faced Montague"

It then occurred to Tybalt that they were talking about Benvolio. His level of respect for Gabriel rose by a mile.

"He is so unattractive" Juno added.

"Tell me about it. I wonder what it's like, making out with him with his jaws all wired up. Say he got some food stuck in it or something. How disgusting would that be? Imagine, imagine if it was meat. Urgh" shuddered Gabriel.

"Still going with the vegetarian thing?"

"Of course. It keeps my weight low and it's the ethical thing to do when you love animals as much as I do. Rose thinks it's sweet. I told her I'd take her out for a ride on my horse someday. I have a feeling she'll be mine before the end of the school year. Maybe even the end of this term. I mean, it's like, March now. She started noticing me December, maybe January. She first spoke to me late February, but we'd been making eyes a couple of times before. That's why Benvolio confronted me about it. Only Mr. Macho Capulet had to bust in and ruin everything"

"Don't worry about it, Gabriel. Maybe it scared him. Maybe that's why he hasn't got all upset about her going with you to dance class and you taking her out to the theatre the other night"

"True. And everyone knows that Rosaline is my half-sister now. He probably believes that if he tries anything with either of us Tybalt will come after him. I don't know why, but that's Montague logic for you. After all, it's not like me and Rosaline are friends or anything. She and Angelo were pretty angry about the wedding dress thing"

"It was a bit uncalled for"

"I know" admitted Gabriel. Tybalt heard him sigh regretfully "I don't know what I was thinking. It's just not fair. I _know _he's only got into contact with her to get back at me. I know it. He wants to play happy families with some daughters he's never known because he knows that I hate him. I suppose I was jealous. But I had a good reason to be. And I know now it's not Rosaline's fault that Angelo is such a twat"

"Your dad is an ass"

"He's not my dad. He's the sperm donor who got custody!"

Juno cackled with glee at his friend's insult. Tybalt found himself chuckling, but listened intently.

"Strangely enough, I don't think Rosaline is all bad" Gabriel added "Before Angelo barged in, I found out that we had similar tastes and such. And as time goes by, I've noticed we have similar personalities, except I'm just a little bit more...a little more...psychotic"

"Gabriel, you're not a psycho. Remember what your councillor told you. You had the control taken away from you, and you need to feel like you are in control again"

"Whatever, Juno! I don't pay attention to that stupid cow. Look. What were we talking about just now?"

"Your half-sister"

"Oh, she's quite catty" Gabriel went on "I heard she shoved Hermia down the stairs"

"Hermia had it coming. She's such a slut"

"Tell me about it. You wouldn't hang around with all those boys and not be screwing a few"

"Ha!"

"And they've all signed her cast" mocked Gabriel "And Mercutio drew a dick on it"

"He is such a freak"

"I know, right? He just came up to me one day and started talking to me about this kid's show, Reynard the Fox. I haven't watched that since I was four"

"Urgh. Here, you want to know something about Mercutio?"

Tybalt listened harder, but Juno was whispering. Gabriel laughed.

"That's so gross! Eww! I'll never look at him the same again! How did you find out?"

"Lysander is my cousin" explained Juno "And he's dating Hermia now"

"Oh my God, is he desperate?"

"I know! I can't wait until he gets an STD so we can laugh at him! I went around his house and she was there. I stayed away, like you told me, so I didn't catch anything"

Gabriel giggled again "But did you catch any gossip?"

"No, but I heard her insulting Tybalt. I think she's like, obsessed with him or something. He's all she talks about, about how he doesn't brush his teeth or wash his hair. And she has this theory that he looks like Robert Pattinson!"

Gabriel screamed with laughter "I will never watch Twilight again and not be able to imagine him as Edward! Oh my God!"

"And she said her and Mercutio were going to make a Facebook group and call it 'Tybalt Capulet Looks Like Robert Pattinson' and invite all their friends to join, and then invite Beatrix and all her Twitard friends, since she's utterly obsessed with Twilight. And Justin Bieber"

"She won't be anymore! She'll just think of her precious vampire and all she'll envision is a Capulet, not to mention the scariest guy in Verona!"

At this point, Tybalt decided to wrench open the door. Gabriel and Juno turned, and gasped, holding their eyeliners in their hands like some silly attempt at a weapon.

"If you hate Hermia, Mercutio, and the Montagues, then I like you already"


	25. War On Montagues!

iluvshinjimina - Thanks! I'm so pleased you like it. Yes, I do still play Sims 2, it's the best out of the three in my opinion.

Zelda12343 - Funny you should say that!

So Tybalt and Gabriel have found some common ground. Will Rosaline and Gabriel make up?

* * *

><p>Gabriel and Juno sat with their lunch trays perched neatly on the table. Tybalt's mates sat on and around the table. Tybalt himself was stuffing chips from the chip shop in his mouth, whilst Rosaline sat beside him, delicately pinching some every now and then. Gabriel and Juno looked around cautiously. This was not their usual sort of company.<p>

"So, what did you do this weekend?" asked Petruchio, a kebab in hand.

"I attended dance class, I met up with a girl I like one evening, I performed at the Neon Nightmare, had a row with Angelo and rode my horse" replied Gabriel.

"We smashed it proper, didn't we, Ty?" jeered Sam.

"Yeah, it was well good. I better go home tonight, my mum might have burnt the house down or something"

"Aw, man! Parties with you are sick!" said Greg.

"Yeah, besides the fact that Simon got arrested and his dad had to pick him up the police station"

"Shut up, mate" grunted Simon.

"What? It was proper funny!" guffed Petruchio.

"I don't understand what they're saying" whispered Juno to Gabriel.

"Chav speak. Just smile and nod" Gabriel muttered back.

"So, you're like, Rosaline's half-brother" said Aaron, turning to Gabriel.

"Yes" replied Gabriel.

"You look well alike"

Gabriel and Rosaline shared a glance.

"I suppose we do" said Rosaline, sitting up.

"Except you look like a girl"

"I know I do. I am a girl" replied Rosaline.

"No, I meant him" Aaron pointed at Gabriel.

Gabriel scowled "It's called being androgynous. It's a fashion statement. Only chavs don't know anything about fashion"

"Did you just call me a chav?" demanded Aaron.

"Yes" Gabriel widened his eyes and shoved his face forwards at Aaron, before sitting back down to poke at his food.

"That's enough" said Tybalt "Anyway, I thought we all got together to talk about how we're going to wage war on the Montagues"

"Yeah, come on, Ty" said Simon.

"Right. Romeo keeps hitting on, talking to, calling and harassing my girl here, and I don't like it. So, we're going to hit back" decided Tybalt "Which is why we have my mate here, Gabriel. You want to know what he's going to do?"

"What?" asked Petruchio.

"He's going to steal Tin Grin, seriously bruv, that's hilarious. He's going to steal Tin Grin's girlfriend"

"You mean Tin Grin as in Benvolio?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, the ugly one" replied Tybalt.

"They're all ugly" said Rosaline.

"That's my girl!" Tybalt heartily slapped her thigh.

"Tin Grin!" spluttered the chavs "Did you think of it yourself?"

"Yes" said Gabriel proudly.

"See?" said Tybalt.

"Why?" asked Shari "Why is he going to steal Benvolio's girlfriend?"

"Keep your voice down! This has to be sneaky" commanded Gabriel "I wouldn't call it stealing. I'd call it...waking her up to see that her boyfriend is a yucky creep who chews with his mouth open. And I'm doing this because I like her, she likes me, and I think she could do better than him. Have you seen his teeth? He must like, get food stuck in it all the time. How disgusting. So I'm also doing her a favour"

"Genius" chortled Tybalt.

"When?" asked Kaila.

"Soon" said Gabriel.

"So, what we're going to do, is just keep fighting with them. We'll fight them at the cinema and in the park. We'll fight them in the swimming pool, and in the shopping centre. We will not give up until we run them out of Verona. We will chase them to Mantua if we have too. Anthony had no right to grab me and drag me around like that. He had no right to treat me like a fucking kid, or diss my dad like that. The Montagues are bastards and they're going down" hissed Tybalt. He slammed his hand down on the table, so that any cutlery resting on it leapt up in the air and clanked. His mates jumped, and many others in the canteen turned to look at them.

"And Hermia the traitor is going with them!" added Rosaline in a low voice "So boys, you can all stop worrying about catching STDs"

"Won't have to, if we all sign pledges at the Verona Belle's Chastity Ball!" mimicked Simon.

"Shut up" said Rosaline "That's coming up soon, isn't it? I haven't written my speech yet. And I don't even have a dress yet. I can't wear the lovely red one Tibby got me for my birthday. It's not appropriate enough for a Chastity Ball. I need a new dress"

"I'll buy you another one" said Tybalt "I'll take you shopping and get you one. And I'll buy you shoes and earrings and stuff. I won't fob my girl off with anything less than the best"

"Rosaline, you're so lucky" sighed Shari. Rosaline smirked as Tybalt wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Give me a weekend, and I'll make it a date" said Tybalt.

"I'm free this weekend. I was supposed to be writing an essay for Mr. Goner, but he won't mind if it's a bit late. He's too scared of you to do anything!"

The boys snorted, remembering their firework prank.

"Mr. Goner is such a loser" added Gabriel "I heard that he used to be really fat and there was this class two years above my year, about a year before I arrived here, who tormented him so much that during the first term he had them he lost four stone!"

"That was us" said Tybalt.

"Oh!" Gabriel laughed.

"He's pathetic. He promised to run this revision session, and you know what he did? He spent the whole hour telling us how important it was that we revised, but didn't actually help us to revise or anything, which was what we needed. And then he got all upset when our marks were so low" said Rosaline.

"When does your Study Leave start?" asked Tybalt.

"13th May" replied Rosaline.

"Good, because my birthdays on the 15th. We're all getting together at the Manor. You better be there" said Tybalt.

"Don't worry, I have my outfit ready"

"You better look hot"

"I always look hot, Tibby, don't worry your little chav noggin"

"And what date is this Chastity Ball thing?"

"Umm...sometime in April"

"Coming up soon, then"

"Yes. That's why I need a dress"

"Then we better get going this weekend"

"Tybalt, are you going to the ball with her?" asked Gabriel.

"No" scoffed Tybalt "My chastity went right out the window when I was younger than you!"

"I thought you had to have a dad or an escort or something with you" shrugged Gabriel "And I assumed you wouldn't want Angelo there"

"Well, I'll figure something out" said Rosaline "I don't care about the event particularly; I just want to shut Sister Agnes up and to keep a good reputation with the teachers. You know, I think they're making me do this to try and get me to stop hanging out with Tibby. I mean, who do they think they are? I will do what I want"

"Yeah. She does what she wants" added Tybalt.

"Now, we are more alike than I thought" mused Gabriel.


	26. Everyone Knows

iluvshinjimina - I usually update daily, between 4-5 English times, so don't worry about that. I always felt sorry for Ro and Merc!

Zelda12343 - I think they kind of have a love/hate relationship.

Well, the Chastity Ball is coming up and Rosaline is getting ready. Is she really going to swear off sex? Also, sorry about the Catholic bit later on. Not my opinion, it's Rosaline's.

* * *

><p>It felt strangely ironic that the ball was taking place on April Fool's Day. Which, also happened to be Mercutio's sixteenth birthday. That morning earlier, everyone had been going up to Mercutio and asking him who he was going to have sex with. The answer 'Tybalt's mum' did not go down well with everyone. Only Hermia, Romeo and a few of the other boys found it funny. Hermia herself had had a new cast put on, and so this time Mercutio had drawn her a picture of a certain part of the female anatomy. Delightful.<p>

Camilla zipped up Rosaline's dress for her.

"You look really beautiful"

"Thanks mum"

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah. I might as well. It will keep a couple of teacher's quiet and hopefully get Romeo off my back, I guess"

"And what does Tybalt think?"

"Wait...how do you know about me and Tybalt?" questioned Rosaline, frowning.

"Darling, everyone knows about you and Tybalt. You've been together since...well, forever, really. Remember when he proposed to you when you were six with a mood ring?"

"I still have it" Rosaline bent over her jewellery box, and pulled it out. She slid it on her middle finger of her right hand, as it had always been a bit big for her. It slowly started to change colour, so that it resembled a kind of mauve or purple colour.

"Purple, for nerves. How fitting. Only it doesn't match with my dress"

"Never mind. You look wonderful in that. Are you sure Tybalt didn't mind paying?"

"Of course not. He said that it was an early one month anniversary treat"

"I just worry that you won't be able to pay him back for all the nice things he buys you"

"He doesn't mind" Rosaline shook her blonde locks "He knows I'll pay it back to him in a different kind of way. I rewrote his Government and Politics essay for him, taking it up from a C to an A. Stuff like that is priceless to me, but for him, it's pure gold. And I also helped his mum clean his bedroom. Literally, it was disgusting, but now it doesn't smell anymore. The only thing was that he complained he couldn't find anything"

"I wish you'd help me clean the house more"

"Mum! I always help clean up. And it doesn't even get that dirty with just us three"

"Ok. That's true. How are you getting to the place?"

"Tybalt's dropping me off" replied Rosaline.

"Is he going in?"

"Probably not. He thinks that everybody taking the pledge is nuts. So Gabriel said he'd escort me"

"Gabriel? That little brat?"

"He's not that bad once you get to know him. We've got similar tastes and stuff. He loves Gossip Boy and listens to similar music as me. We've talked about it, and it turns out he and Angelo do not get on. He was mad at Angelo. He said he felt like Angelo was only contacting us to spite him. But it turns out it was just some midlife crisis. I'm still not having anything to do with him"

"Good for you, girl. We don't need men" said Camilla ferociously.

"Evidently not. I'm about to attend a Chastity Ball" said Rosaline.

Camilla laughed "Just make sure you're doing this for the right reasons"

"Mum, it's just words and a stupid ring to wear. And it's my body, my choice, my consequences, if I break the vow"

"Fair enough" shrugged Camilla.

The sound of a car pulling up outside distracted them. They peered out of the window to see Tybalt's bashed up car waiting outside.

"How old is Tybalt now?" asked Camilla.

"Seventeen" lied Rosaline. Tybalt's seventeenth birthday was actually on the 15th of May, which was a month and a half away.

"Does he have a licence?"

"Sure" lied Rosaline. Tybalt was driving the car without a lisense and without having any formal driving lessons.

"Ok. I'll see you later. Have _fun_, I suppose"

"Of course I will. Being stuck in a room with stuck up righteous Catholics for an evening. Just great" Rosaline scooped up her new beaded clutch bag, waved goodbye to Livia as she sat watching that Twilight film for the hundredth time, and went out to Tybalt's car. Gabriel had been crammed into the back seat and was busy smoking. Tybalt got out the car.

"Wow" was he said.

Rosaline did look dazzling. She was wearing a white dress, with sparkly strappy spaghetti sleeves. The dress itself clung at the bodice, and then flared out a little in a simple A line, and fell to her knees. She wore sparkly strappy heels to match the sleeves, as well as carrying a white embroided clutch bag. Her hair was immaculate, and her make-up was glamorous and stunning, but simple enough to make sure she looked innocent.

"Stop staring at my tits!"

"I can't help it! You look so..."

"Come on, Tibby. Let's go"

He held open the car door for her, and Rosaline carefully climbing, trying not to spoil her dress or shoes. Once she was safely tucked in, and Gabriel had thrown his cigarette out of the window, did Tybalt climb back in and start to drive.

"I didn't know you smoked, Gabriel" said Rosaline.

"I shouldn't be" admitted Gabriel "But Angelo hates it if I do"

"You have got it in for that man, haven't you?" remarked Rosaline.

"Yes" said Gabriel.


	27. The Chastity Ball

Zelda12343 - Mmm...me too. Also, sorry I forgot to answer your question in one of your previous reviews. I'm hoping to have this story a little shorter than the other two (about 50 chapters maybe) but I'll see how that goes.

So Rosaline and Gabriel have made up and have headed off to the Chastity Ball together. Hope you all like Gabriel's outfit!

* * *

><p>Tybalt's car pulled up, and he jumped out to open Rosaline's door. She climbed out as elegantly as she could, and then Tybalt pulled her seat down so Gabriel could clamour out.<p>

"Now what?" asked Gabriel.

"There's the door" said Rosaline "I've got the tickets here. Do you want yours?"

"No, I'm just going to run in without showing I've paid" scoffed Gabriel.

"Don't talk to my girl, I mean, Rosaline, like that" growled Tybalt, remembering their cover. Rosaline looked around. Hundreds of girls her age, and some much younger, flocked to the door with their fathers.

"This is so weird" muttered Gabriel.

"You can go home if you want" replied Rosaline.

"No. I'll stay. I said I'd come with you, and I will. See you later, Tybalt"

"I'll pick you up later, right?" asked Tybalt.

"Yes. I'll ring you when we want to leave"

Rosaline and Gabriel took their places in the queue. She shivered, and looked at her mood ring. It was still mauve.

"Are you nervous?" asked Gabriel.

"No" lied Rosaline.

"You look really pretty, by the way. Tybalt bought it for you, right?"

"Yep. In return for cleaning his room and rewriting his coursework"

"You look like Marilyn Monroe"

"Thanks. You look nice yourself" She shuffled a little to try and warm up. Gabriel beamed. He was wearing a custom made outfit that he had made himself, which was a smart black top with a high collar buttoned at the neck and studded with decorative black jewels. It billowed down past his waist over black silk leggings. He carried a black feather boa and a black clutch bag. He was wearing a silver necklace with a diamante G and he'd even slicked on some eyeliner.

Finally, they reached the door. She gave in their tickets, and then they linked arms and stepped inside. More girls dressed in dresses that were bridal in nature filtered past, with their dads following.

"This is so creepy" muttered Gabriel.

"I know. It's like incest" Rosaline whispered back.

"That one over there looks about eight. Eight year old kids should be playing in the sand pit"

"I know. This sets back everything those poor feminists in the 20th century fought for"

Gabriel and Rosaline looked around at the room. It was decorated like it was prom night. Tables with white tablecloths were clustered at the back of the hall, with centrepieces of white balloons. A large crucifix had been erected at the front of the hall, leaving a floor clear for dancing between that and the tables. Decorations of white ribbons and white balloons hung up around the hall.

"What's with all the white? It needs some red to spruce things up" stated Gabriel.

"Red's my favourite colour" replied Rosaline "And anyway, I think it's meant to symbolise purity. See, there's Sister Agnes, and there's some of the crew at St. Peter's Church. Friar Lawrence and his holy buddies"

Gabriel snorted at her sentiment "Now what?"

"Some of the kids are dancing" said Rosaline.

"Bless them. Poor little things. What kind of message is this sending to them? It's like they're just objects, valued by their virginity" Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"I agree...quick, shut up, Sister Agnes is coming over here"

Gabriel stopped talking just as she arrived.

"Ah, Rosaline! So glad you could make it. And you look simply stunning in white. Quite bridal, actually. Are you nervous?"

"No" replied Rosaline.

"Very good! Oh. Gabriel. How lovely to see you here"

"Hello, Sister Agnes" said Gabriel coldly. He remembered the time she saw the drawing he had sketched of her in a bikini on the back of his work book. She had not been happy.

"Gabriel is actually my half-brother" explained Rosaline, to cease Sister Agnes' slight frown "My dad used to be married to my mum, but then he divorced her and had Gabriel with a woman who he remarried. He couldn't be here, so Gabriel is who I'll pledge too"

"I see. If you'll excuse me, I have to go and check how it's going on at the door"

Gabriel and Rosaline looked at each other.

"Ouch" said Gabriel "But she's never liked Angelo"

"Why's that?"

"Because he's the head of a liberal party. When he got elected as Deputy, she was annoyed because his party don't promote Catholic family values or any of that crap. We're humanists"

"I didn't know Angelo was liberal"

"Oh. Well. He claims to be, but he's a damn right dictator to live with!"

"I should take a slight more interest in politics sometime"

"Trust me, you shouldn't. It's so boring!" cried Gabriel "It's just old men in suits arguing with each other all the time. And they don't care about important things, like animal rights, like celebrities do"

"My Uncle Egues sometimes pays me to help him with his work load. I thought it was quite interesting" replied Rosaline.

"Whatever floats your boat" shrugged Gabriel.

"Well, it wasn't so much the politics. It was the money management. I think it's something I'd like to go into. I've managed my family's finances better than my mum for the past two years, and I was always good at saving money when I was a kid. Or maybe I'll consider business. Tibby and I talk about this sometimes, about ways to save money and such. He has a job in a music store and he also manages his mum's finances, because of her manic depression"

"I didn't know that" said Gabriel.

"I've always known. I used to help him with it all sometimes. He hates it"

"How long have you two known each other?" asked Gabriel.

"Since forever, really" said Rosaline "We'd always meet at Capulet family gatherings. It always used to be us ganging up on Hermia. Tybalt let me out after Hermia shut me in the bathroom with the spider in. And we made a Hermia Hate Club and wrote a Burn Book about her"

"I have a Burn Book. It's got all the boys in my year in"

"Make sure no one ever sees it" advised Rosaline "Because Tybalt showed it to Juliet and she told on us. We were in huge trouble. And then, me and the other girls made Tybalt watch Mean Girls with us and Hermia just made comments about me being like the Queen Bee in that film"

"I love Mean Girls" said Gabriel "Shall we get drinks?"

"Is there any alcohol?"

"I don't think so"

"Great" sighed Rosaline. Without sufficient alcohol, she didn't know how she was going to make it through this evening.


	28. Rosaline's Speech

iluvshinjimina - No problem! And yep, that will be explored during the course of this story.

Zelda12343 - I couldn't resist putting Gabriel in something silly! And I'm pleased you agree, I was worried about offending people, like with the Wiccan thing. I'm a proud feminist, so stuff like doesn't sit well with me.

Sorry for the day off, my aunty came to visit as it's my birthday next Thursday. Anyway, Rosaline and her bro are at the ball, and getting ready to take her vow. Hope Rosaline's speech doesn't seem too cheesy at all, I was trying to make it have a double meaning.

* * *

><p>After an hour of dancing, taking photos and 'mingling' Gabriel and Rosaline sat down to dinner. The tables were round, so they shared with another couple of families. There was a girl who Gabriel recognised as being in his year with her father, the eight year old they'd seen earlier on with her father, and another three girls in different parts of their teenage years with their father.<p>

"We attend every year" said the father with the three girls "But it's my youngest, Cynthia's, first time. She's twelve"

"I'm eight" said the little one.

"You look rather young to be a dad" said her father to Gabriel.

"I'm her half-brother" explained Gabriel.

"Couldn't your dad make it?" asked the father with the girl who Gabriel recognised.

"No" replied Rosaline.

"I wouldn't want to bring him anyway!" scoffed Gabriel.

The father with his three girls sighed "That's a shame. My girls mean the world to me"

"Angelo does not mean the world to us. He won't get me a cat and he didn't care when my tarantula died. I only have a horse now" sulked Gabriel.

"I want a pony!" cried the eight year old.

"You're lucky to have a horse. Many other boys your age don't" said the father of the girl Gabriel recognised.

"Oh well. I suppose you have a point. He walked out on Rosaline and her mother for my mother. It could have been worse. I could have grown up on the Burry Estate"

"Gabriel" scolded Rosaline.

"I'm so sorry to hear that your father isn't a part of your life" said the father with his three girls "Have you tried to get into contact at all?"

"He's tried to get into contact with me. But it was just a midlife crisis"

"Are you sure about that?" he asked again, his eyes so sad that Rosaline felt like she was the bad person in the situation.

"Yes. I'm sure. I've made peace with it" she said firmly and clearly "From now on, I'm looking out for myself and working hard for myself. I do well at school, and Sister Agnes said I stood a chance of being Head Girl. She said I should take the pledge this evening"

"That's a wise choice for a girl like you, trying to make a better life for yourself"

"A lot of people seem to be saying that" murmured Rosaline, as their first course was served. Gabriel immediately wrinkled his nose.

"Oh my God, do you not even have a vegetarian option?"

"I didn't know you were veggie" said Rosaline, as the waiter marched back to go and fetch the vegetarian option for him.

"Oh, I love animals. I prefer them to people. I used to eat meat, but the more I loved my babies, my horse and my tarantula, the more I realised that humans and animals are equal and we should not slaughter our friends for food in the most inhumane of ways. I also oppose animal testing and refuse to use products which have been tested on animals. I do not were real fur. I also asked Angelo if I could get some chickens that had been rescued from a battery farm but he said no because they'd shit everywhere" sighed Gabriel.

"Gabriel, I'm eating" groaned Rosaline. They continued to talk to their tablemates as the evening progressed on. It was interesting to hear their different reasons for taking the pledge that evening. The eight year old did not understand what was going on, but her father explained they were simply spending time together. They were treated to an entire three course meal, and had an hour in which to finish. Upon completion, they turned as a friar from the church climbed up on stage to talk. Rosaline knew that this was the part in which she and the other girls would have to make their speeches. Sister Agnes had gone through it with them several times. She was last.

"Well, first of all, welcome to the annual Verona Belle's Chastity Ball. It is my pleasure to be hosting this evening. You girls all look like princesses. And I hope you fathers are very proud of them"

There were a few cheers. Gabriel and Rosaline just looked at each other and rolled their eyes. The friar finished his speech. Sister Agnes climbed up and smiled sweetly "And now, several girls who are making pledges this evening are going to take the time to talk to you and tell you why they making the pledge this evening. Please welcome, Verona's Belles!"

Rosaline got up, and took her place in line with them. She fumbled with her speech, a few cues written on a slip of paper. Gabriel watched her, and smiled. It eased the tension a bit. Even though she'd previously dismissed the pledge and her speech as 'just words' she couldn't help but feel that something was not right. This whole evening was not right. Why were these girls pledging to their dads? All they ever did was let them down. Angelo had thrown her mother out, didn't care for Gabriel, and was only pretending to care for her now to upset Gabriel. Why should anybody's father dictate over their life and lifestyle choices?

Gabriel was right. This was so creepy. It didn't feel right at all. There was only one man in Rosaline's life who ever made her feel right.

"And now, last but not least, Miss. Rosaline Oftmoro"

Rosaline stepped up to the podium, grateful that no matter what situation she was in, she was always graceful and looked more confident than she really was. Her eyes darted around the room, before suddenly settling on a familiar ginger boy wearing a waiter's uniform. He smirked at her, and Rosaline almost wanted to laugh with relief. Of course he'd be there for her as she told the biggest lie of her life. She made sure her eyes were connected with his, and she began to speak.

"Hi, I'm Rosaline, and I'm sixteen. I'm making this pledge today, not only to honour God, but I'm doing this because I believe in love. I believe that love is deeper than just...a physical thing, a teenage infactuation. There's more to love than that. Love is a long-term loving commitment, like marriage. It's only when you find someone who you can accept during the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's loving someone when you are the person most least likely in the world to claim to do so. Love is slow, it starts steady, and it grows over a number of years, whether it's from your childhood or middle age. Virginity is the most precious gift you can give a lover. Once it is gone, it is gone. And that is why you must wait until you find the right person, when in a long-term loving commitment like marriage, to make love to them. People forget what having sex really is – it's also called making love. And for a reason"

The applause was steady. Sister Agnes looked pleased, but disappointed she hadn't got the self-righteous anti-sex speech she had been looking for. Gabriel whooped loudly and did a little dance in the middle of the floor for her. Rosaline smiled fondly. He was turning out to be quite sweet, really.

Then her eyes turned to Tybalt, in his disguise. They made eye contact, but for one of the first times ever, neither understood what the other was trying to say to the other.


	29. I Meant It

iluvshinjimina - Oh, that's good then! I thought it seemed rather sappy.

DawnStar94 - Thank you! Keep enjoying the story, I'm really glad you like it.

Zelda12343 - Funnily enough, I don't think the vow will last the night...

Rosaline's made her speech and such. This chapter is probably the longest of the story so far. The pledge Gabriel says is adapted slightly from some Christian website and the scene where Tybalt and Rosaline go dancing was inspired by Katy Perry's video for 'The One That Got Away' I'm thinking of writing a song fic to that about Rosaline with the scenario if Tybalt was killed by Romeo as in the play. What do you reckon?

* * *

><p>After her speech, Rosaline reunited with Gabriel and they stood in a line with the other participants. Rosaline was given a pure white rose, and Gabriel was given a silver ring, with a love heart engraved with the words 'True Love Waits' inside of it. Two of the friars stood in front of the crucifix holding swords in an arch.<p>

They waited as the first father and daughter made their pledge, and then moved along. Rosaline played with the white petals of the rose. They felt like velvet. Finally, it was Gabriel's turn. He held the ring, and looked at Rosaline with a bored cynical expression on his face "I, Gabriel, choose before God to cover my...er, half-sister, as her authority and protection in the area of purity. I will be pure in my own life as a man, I mean, boy, maybe not a husband yet and half-brother. I will be a...boy of intergrity and accountability as I lead, guide and pray over my half-sister and my family as the high priest, as if Angelo would let me, in my home. This covering will be used by God to influence generations to come"

He slipped the ring onto Rosaline's wedding finger, and then she stepped forwards and placed the white rose before the crucifix. She rejoined him, and then they went to sign the pledge. After that was completed, they went back to their seats. They watched the other girls make their vows and sign the pledge. Dinner had been cleared away as they'd made the pledges and they waited as the last of the girls made their pledge. One of the friars thanked them for coming, and then they were allowed to get up and dance for the last hour. It was heading onto eleven 'o' clock, at which point the 'Last Waltz' would take place. Rosaline spotted the eight year old sleeping against her father in a chair and sighed.

"Don't worry. As your protector, I say, do whatever the hell you want. Because I'm certainly not staying pure to guide you!" muttered Gabriel.

"I have to say, there is a double standard going here. Why isn't there any of this for boys?"

"I have no idea" Gabriel rolled his eyes "And if there was, then I wouldn't let Angelo take me. In fact, knowing him, he wouldn't bother. And good. There are times like these when I'm glad he's such a shite parent"

"Is he really that awful to you?" asked Rosaline. She knew it sounded dumb and naive, but her daddy issues were still playing on her mind.

Gabriel glared at her "Yes! He slapped me around the face for the wedding dress thing. But it's ok, I got my revenge. I stole his laptop and sent rude emails to the Duke of Mantua"

"Has he said anything about what he thinks about tonight?" asked Rosaline.

"Nope. He doesn't even know we are here. He thinks I'm at Juno's and he doesn't know what you're doing. He did say to me, when it was mentioned amongst members of a different political party who are in favour of them, that he thought it was a load of nonsense and only the sex ed programs supported by his party would work. Oh well" Gabriel shrugged.

"I'm looking forward to getting out of here" said Rosaline "It's nearly eleven. Tibby will be waiting in the car. Will you need a lift home?"

"No. I wouldn't want to spoil your evening" said Gabriel "I can catch the train. I've got money"

"Are you sure?" asked Rosaline, letting him twirl her around.

"Yes. I thought you and Tybalt might want some time alone"

"Oh. That's ok then" the song finished. Rosaline smiled at her half-brother. He'd done her a big favour tonight, and she decided to make his evening for him "You dance wonderfully, by the way"

His little face lit up with delight. Rosaline got the picture that he wasn't used to hearing praise for his talents.

"Thanks" he beamed, and then they left. Tybalt met them at the door.

"Goodnight, Gabriel" said Rosaline "Stay safe"

"Bye, Rosaline. Bye, Tybalt" Gabriel disappeared into the night, his shoes clacking and his feather boa swaying.

"Have fun?" asked Tybalt.

"What do you think?" asked Rosaline. They started to walk away from the entrance. When they were out of sight he slipped his arm around her waist.

"Well, I guess this is all we can do now" he muttered.

"Didn't you understand what I meant during the speech?" asked Rosaline, turning to face him. She stroked his cheeks, and then straightened his hoodie affectionately.

Tybalt shook his head "No"

Rosaline shook her own head affectionately. He'd never been one for fancy words "I said, loving long-term committed relationship, such as marriage. But I didn't say marriage. And what do you think we have?"

Tybalt shrugged "We're going out?"

"No, not that!"

"So we aren't together?" Tybalt asked, feeling heat rise to his face.

"Yes! We are together. But we aren't just 'going out.' Look" Rosaline thrust her mood ring in his face "I've known you all my life. We have a loving long-term committed relationship. I don't want anybody else but you. Not Orlando, not Romeo, not any other prick on my estate, not any other rich young bachelor like Hermia claims I do. You! My Tibby"

He bent down and kissed her "Let's get out of here"

They climbed into his crappy old car, and then picked up a burger and fries each at a McDonald's drive through.

"I hope Gabriel's all right" said Rosaline, biting into her burger as Tybalt drove along.

"He'll be fine. You know who he reminds me of?" replied Tybalt, biting into his burger.

"Nope. Who?"

"Hermia"

"Don't ever let me hear you say that again! Hermia's a cow. Gabriel's...sweet"

"But seriously! I mean, both were conceived in extramarital affairs, except your dad married Gabriel's mum and my uncle stayed with his wife, both don't get on with their fathers, and Hermia is a tomboy, whereas Gabriel is a...tomgirl?"

"If Hermia wasn't such a whore, I'd think she played the other field"

Tybalt snorted so hard that coke shot out of his nostrils "Oh my God! If only! Then Uncle Egues would kick her out!"

They drove past a community centre. There seemed to be some sort of elderly dance function going on. Tybalt turned to grin at Rosaline "Let's have some fun"

They climbed out the car. Tybalt paid the bemused man on the door, and then pulled Rosaline over to spin her around the dance floor. Elderly couples watched them. Some were scowling, some were laughing, and others smiled on kindly. Rosaline let Tybalt pick her up, twirl her around, and at one point slid her underneath his legs. When they were both red and sweaty from dancing and laughing too hard, they waved goodbye like lunatics, before getting back in the car. Tybalt drove onwards, seemingly going in no particular direction.

Soon they travelled off the motorway and Tybalt led them along twisted, winding lanes into the trees.

"Where are we going?" asked Rosaline.

"Just somewhere I like to come" replied Tybalt. When they reached a silent secluded spot between trees, and facing a lake, he stopped the car. They finished the remains of their food silently, and watched the moonlight dappling on the lake. The stars smiled down at them. It felt like a typical teenage romance setting.

Rosaline smiled to herself, but then started to fumble with her purity ring. She twisted it around, so that it was loose. Tybalt looked down and watched her do so for a while, until she pulled it off and put it on the dashboard of his bonnet. Instead, she placed her mood ring from her index finger to her ring finger. She glanced up at him. A silent message was exchanged. Tybalt trailed his hand across the car, and then settled it on her knee. He gently stroked along her thigh, and listened to her sigh of pleasure.

"Now?"

"Yeah. Now"

They both leant over, parts of the car sticking into them, and began to make out passionately. Rosaline's fingers found their way to the zipper of his hoodie, and pulled it down. Tybalt ripped it off and started loosening the straps of her dress.

"The car's digging into me" complained Rosaline.

"We'll get in the back seats" Tybalt clamoured through the gaps in the seats, and pulled Rosaline after him. Her heart beat wildly.

"Mind my dress"

"Don't worry, I'll just buy you a new one" Tybalt unfastened the straps, and then unzipped the back. Rosaline pulled his shirt off. God, he was hot. He had abs that no other guy that wasn't in the back of a trashy gossip magazine had.

"Well, haven't you been working out" she purred, stroking his abs.

"It's all the Montague chasing I do"

"If he could see us now..."

"It would be awesome!"

"Hush, that's enough of that. I want to think about something else" She entwined her arms around him, and caressed his bare back, noticing a few bruises and scratches from where he had been in fights "Have you been fighting again?"

"Some prick tried to nick my mobile when I was walking around your estate without realising who I was. He came off much worse, trust me"

"Yeah, I can imagine that!" Rosaline kissed a bruise on his shoulder, and ran her hands up his muscled chest to cup his cheek in her hand and kiss him "You're so strong. And tough. And manly. But you need to be careful. I couldn't bear to lose you"

"Don't worry. I've never lost a fight" Tybalt nuzzled her ear "I'm not going anywhere. You sure you want this, Ros?"

"Yes" whispered Rosaline, reaching to pull down his trousers. She stopped, upon catching sight of something black and in a twisted shape on his skin "Tibby!"

"What?"

"What the hell is that on your leg?"

"Oh, it's my tattoo. Like it?"

"What the hell does it say?"

"It says loyauté. It means loyalty in French. What's the matter? Never seen a tattoo before?"

"You shouldn't have a tattoo! You're sixteen"

"I shouldn't be driving a car, shouldn't be smoking or or drinking or partying or fighting and you don't complain about it. Well, you do, actually"

"Why did you want that tattoo done?"

"Because I wanted it on me. It means stuff to me. And I want the Capulet family crest on my arm next"

"It's so cute how much you love your family"

The moon shone bright in the sky that night, and the stars twinkled above them. The air was filled with silence. A while later, Rosaline lay straddled across Tybalt, as he stroked his fingers through her hair. She was sleeping, wearing his shirt and boxers. Tybalt just wore his trousers.

"You want to know a secret, Rosaline?" he murmured, stroking his fingers through her hair "I haven't told anyone else this. I've had sex before, plenty of times, but this was the first time...I meant it. And you want to know another? You want to know why I'm so aggressive and fight the Montagues so much? When I was in my early teens, I realised that despite the fact that I cared for my mum for so long and I was the most loyal to the family, I found out that I wouldn't get anything. I'd never be Lord; I'd never inherit any money. I was just a minor ranking cousin and would have to find my own way in life, and it scared me. I hate school and I'm not clever or good at anything. I don't have a purpose. And so I fight the Montagues to try and...try and hold onto my place. In fact, I don't even acknowledge this to myself and I probably won't ever again. But still, I just wanted to tell you because you make me feel all right"


	30. The Morning After But Somewhere Else

Zelda12343 - Thanks! I'm hopeless at writing the huffin' and puffin' so I don't include it in my work. Sometimes, it's just not needed, don't you think?

Dawnstar94 - The Montague family are kind of religious, and I didn't think they came across as stupid and annoying. I hope I haven't offended you at all, it's just I needed a reason as to why Rosaline would say she was a sworn virgin in the first place. I know not all Christians are like that, one of my friends wants to be a vicar!

Uh oh, Rosaline's vow's not even a few hours old and she's broken it. Let's hear from Hermia and the Montagues.

* * *

><p>"So" said Hermia, sitting up at the end of Mercutio's bed "Who has a hangover?"<p>

"Me" whined Benvolio, lying on the left side.

"Not me!" shrieked Mercutio, bouncing up from the middle. Poor Benvolio moaned, and threw the duvet over his head.

"I live in a permanent drunken state, brought on by lovesickness for my sweet Rosaline" mumbled Romeo from the right side.

"Go back to sleep" instructed Mercutio, putting the duvet over his head.

"Ok"

"Mercutio, are you still wearing my skirt?" asked Hermia.

Mercutio glanced under the duvet "Yep. Did you want it back?"

"Yes please. I can't walk home in your boxers"

"We had such an awesome time last night" said Mercutio, looking around his trashed room. Adam and Balthasar were lying on the sofa, his telly was upside down, his clothes were hanging off the lampshade, the door to his bathroom was hanging off on it's hinges and there was food crushed into the carpet.

"I'm sure you're going to have fun clearing this up" said Hermia, getting up. There was a moan as she kicked something "Good morning, Paris! Did you decide to join us after all?"

"Oooh, just look at that! Paris is pissed!" sniggered Mercutio "Quick, take a picture and show it to Lord Capulet!"

Hermia snapped one, and then began to inspect the damage closer. Mercutio's Sweet Sixteen birthday bash had gone down a treat. First of all, they went bowling, although Hermia couldn't do anything because her arm was in it's cast, and then they went to Pizza Planet and Mercutio tipped a plate of pasta on his head because Romeo promised him a fiver if he did, so the management sent them out. Then they went running around Verona like maniacs, and they did their usual. Knocking on Tybalt's door and running away. After it got dark, they brought the party back to Mercutio's room. Valentine tried to get them to be quiet after midnight but it didn't work, as they were playing Truth Or Dare. Then Paris came whining at them to shut up and so they tried to corrupt him and Hermia offered him shrooms as a joke. Then Escalus came down himself and told them to either go home or be quiet. Some of their friends left then, but not any of the particularly rowdy ones. They stole some alcohol from the kitchens and played loud thumping music, until Mercutio's mum banged on the door and shouted at her son to be quiet. So, they turned off the music and the prank calls started, with Tybalt being their main victim. At around four in the morning, they had crawled into Mercutio's bed, with Hermia at the bottom, the three boys side by side, and Adam and Balthasar on the sofa.

"This room has been wrecked" stated Hermia, as Mercutio shimmied out of her skirt and tossed it to her "You, my pal, are going to be in so much trouble when your family wake up. I'm out of here!"

"Bye" said Mercutio, burrowing back under the duvet as she left. His birthday had been so freaking awesome! It was April Fool's Day, so he usually began by playing a series of tricks on his family, like putting green paint on his mum's hands as she slept so when she rubbed her face she looked like Elphaba out of Wicked. This year he'd got legal, so he went around telling everyone he was going to shag Tybalt's mum. Luckily Tybalt had been too busy with his hag Rosaline, so he hadn't been punched in the face yet.

And this year had been even better, because he'd successfully corrupted Benvolio. He got him drunk! Bless him, Benny was adorable when he was pissed.

"What time is it?" mumbled Benvolio, raising his head a little.

"I don't know, you're one sleeping next to my alarm clock" retorted Mercutio.

"You're the one with perfect vision!"

"It's ten" replied Mercutio "Are you awake yet?"

"No! I'm exhausted, my head is killing me, and when I get home, my dad will kill me for getting drunk"

"No, he won't! He'll congratulate you for finally having the balls to do so!"

"Shut up!"

"Know what I think?" said Mercutio, rolling over to whisper in the other boy's ear "I think he thinks that you're finally becoming a man, Bennykins. I mean, you've got drunk, at last, and you have a girlfriend after saying how you never thought you'd get one. I think-"

"Oh shit!" Benvolio flung himself up, snatching his glasses from his bedside table "I was supposed to meet Rose to go to the cinema with her!"

"Oh no! What time were you meant to be there for?"

"I have to get there in half an hour" Benvolio hurried around the room, trying to find his shoes "I look a sight!"

"You look fit"

"Not funny! Help me find my stuff; I know it's here somewhere"

"I like the fact that there is a rip across the back of your trousers and that I can see your boxers and that I wasn't going to tell you and just let you go out like that until my nice side told me too"

"Wha...No! How did that happen? What am I going to do?" cried Benvolio, turning around in front of a mirror.

"I'll lend you my pink trousers!"

"NO!"

"Oh, poor Benny. He'll never make to his girlfriend in time, he'll just turn into a pumpkin at ten thirty" sang Mercutio.

"Shut up! I need to see her"

"I need to see her" mimicked Mercutio "You know who you sound like? You sound like Woo woo!"

"Be quiet!" was Romeo's muffled shout.

"I need to see her" Benvolio chewed his lip "She keeps making eyes at Gabriel Fulgencio, and I'm worried she'll dump me if I don't..."

Mercutio raised his eyebrows "Act like him? Pff! You'd be better off having no girlfriend if that's the case! If you ever act like Gabriel, I'll hit you"

"No! It's just she's all like 'Gabriel has a horse' or 'Gabriel is a vegetarian and he campaigns for animal rights' and worse of all 'Gabriel gets teased by all the boys on the football team and it's so mean because he's actually so sweet!' because I know and you know that he's evil!" Benvolio ran frantically around the room, successfully located one shoe and then the other "Oh, what am I going to do? I can't go out like this!"

"I'll lend you some clothes. Just calm down. This Gabriel thing is just an infatuation. She'll soon see what he's really like and not want anything to with him. Benny, you are and always will be the nicest boy that ever existed. You've nothing to worry about" assured Mercutio.

"You really think so?"

"Yes" replied Mercutio "After all, you were the first to get a girlfriend out of us three, if you don't count Romeo's stupid simpering hang-ons"

And with that he kicked Romeo under the duvet, before hopping out to fetch Benvolio some clothes.


	31. Gabriel Trouble

Zelda12343 - I'd love Mercutio for a friend. He's daring, but caring.

iluvshinjimina - No probs about Sims 2...I don't have anyone to talk to about it either! You can PM me if you like and chat about it more, I just prefer to keep storyish stuff in my AN unless people don't have accounts and stuff. And I'm taking A Levels, last year I did GCSEs.

Quick update today, as it's my birthday and stuff (Can't believe I am seventeen, I still feel like a kid!)

* * *

><p>Ten forty, and Benvolio and Mercutio were running down towards the cinema. Benvolio had to keep stopping and pulling Mercutio's trousers up, since Mercutio was taller and slimmer than he was.<p>

"Well, where is she? Hey, FATTY!" shouted Mercutio.

"Shut up!" cried Benvolio "You should never call a girl fat"

"I thought it was whore?"

"It's both. Now please, just behave yourself. Ah, my head is killing me" moaned Benvolio.

"What time does the film start?" asked Mercutio.

"Quarter to eleven" replied Benvolio.

"Maybe she's late. Maybe she's already bought the tickets and is waiting inside the foyer"

Benvolio went to the glass and looked through. There was no sign of his girlfriend.

"She's not there"

"Then perhaps she's late" said Mercutio.

"Or perhaps she thinks I've stood her up and has gone home" Benvolio sank to his knees in despair "Why did I let you get me drunk? Why?"

"Hermia helped" Mercutio shrugged.

"I'm going to kill that girl next time I see her! She's like a female you"

"Now, that's not very nice. You know you love my Hermy-wa really. She always says nice things about you"

"What did she say?" asked Benvolio.

"She said that you're so cute and such a little prude. And that you are a geek chic. And she says she loves you and if Tybalt ever dunks your head in a loo again she's going to beat him with a stick"

"Ok" said Benvolio.

Mercutio check his watch "It's quarter to eleven now. The film will have started. Do you want to wait a bit longer, or shall we just go back to mine and wake the others up? I mean, Valentine bought me some films for my birthday, and Paris gave me Mean Girls 2, although I think it was some sort of sick joke"

"Whatever" mumbled Benvolio, sitting on the ground "I can't do all day. I have work at one"

"Oh yes. Can I come and visit?"

"No. If you make Book City, one more time, then I will shut you in one of the boxes and send you to Timbuktu"

"What? It was funny. You laughed"

"It's not funny – well it was at first, but it's my mother's bookstore. It's what I've got left of her. It's almost disrespectful when you make towers and houses with all the books"

"Sorry" sulked Mercutio. He glanced across the road for something to do "Hey – isn't that Tybalt?"

"Huh?"

"Tybalt! Look! There he is. See how ugly he is, you can't miss him. He's over the road, at the bakery. And he's with...Rosaline!"

"Of course he's with her. They're cousins, aren't they?"

"No. Rosaline is Lady Capulet's niece, and Tybalt is Eugene's nephew. They're only related by marriage"

"And this concerns me because...?"

"They're out. Together. And they are a boy and girl"

"Mercutio, you hang out with Hermia! She's a girl and you're a boy. But you two aren't dating or anything. Are you?"

"No, of course not! Hermia is my soul sister. And anyway, last night, Rosaline was meant to have made some sort of chastity pledge, and Hermia tells me that some nun called Sister Agnes told her she ought to stop hanging around with Tybalt. I bet they're together. Look, keep looking, there, Tybalt's coming out the bakery"

"He's probably just bought his mum a loaf of bread or something. It's no big deal"

"No, he's bought croissants! Look, he's talking to her and stroking her arm. And he has this mushy expression on his face. Never seen him look like that before"

"Maybe he's just being friendly. Last night, you and Hermia pretended to grope and you're not going out or anything"

"No, no, look, Benny! They're kissing!"

Benvolio squinted, and saw Rosaline wearing a white dress, Tybalt looking crumpled in yesterday's clothes. They were kissing. Tybalt broke off, and fed her part of his croissant.

"Oh my God!" giggled Mercutio "So it is true! They are together!"

"Romeo's going to be heartbroken" said Benvolio.

"If they get married, and have kids, they'll have the most ugliest kids ever! Ha! This is so funny! Bennykins, get your phone out, let's take a picture!"

"They're leaving" said Benvolio.

"Ok. I'll just tell Romeo myself" Mercutio fumbled with his phone "Hey Woo woo! Guess who we just saw!"

Benvolio rolled his eyes, and looked at Tybalt and Rosaline as they walked down the street. He had his arm wrapped around her waist, and was feeding her bits of croissant. They reached a really crappy ugly old car, and Tybalt held the door open for her. They drove past Benvolio without noticing him or Mercutio as he yelled down the phone at Romeo. The couple looked reasonably content with each other. It was weird – Benvolio had never seen Tybalt 'in love' before. He'd seen him with girls, lots and lots of girls, but he never appeared to care for any of them. Benvolio figured it had been more to do with having sex rather than loving someone.

"He says I'm being stupid!" cried Mercutio.

"Whatever, Mercutio" sighed Benvolio. He clamoured up "I'm going to ring Rose. I should have done earlier"

"Maybe you won't have too" said Mercutio. His voice had suddenly gone solemn. Benvolio looked at him, and then he saw, coming out of the cinema, Rose. With Gabriel.

"Rose" said Benvolio, hurrying up to meet her "I was waiting for you!"

"You are a really crap boyfriend" Gabriel's girly tenor rang out "You leave your girlfriend waiting for you for ten minutes? Not very chivalrous. It's a good job I was nearby"

"It was bit unfair" added Rose "I felt like such a fool"

"I didn't mean – I was at Mercutio's birthday party last night and-"

Benvolio stopped speaking as he saw Mercutio start performing some demented ridiculous dance at the mention of his name. Gabriel just looked at him disgustedly.

"And he made me get drunk. I'm sorry. I ran as fast as I could, but I ripped my trousers and I had to borrow a pair of Mercutio's and they keep constricting my movement"

"I'll say!" scoffed Gabriel "You ought to lose some weight, tubby"

"That's not nice" snapped Mercutio "You need to gain some weight, scrawny rat"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?" shrieked Gabriel. Everyone winced and clutched their ears.

"Scrawny rat" repeated Mercutio deliciously.

Gabriel gasped "I have the perfect body and figure of a ballet dancer, in fact. My dance teacher says I am absolutely perfect the way I am. And he calls me beautiful"

"He?" snorted Mercutio.

"Are you inclining something?" Gabriel hissed.

"What? That you're sleeping with your dance teacher and he's a guy? Wouldn't daddy be proud!"

"That's a lie, you freak!" screamed Gabriel.

"Mercutio, stop it!" protested Benvolio.

"Why do you hang around with such an idiot, Benvolio? Gabriel is one of the loveliest people I've ever met. There's nothing wrong with him being a dancer – in fact you should see him, it's amazing what he can do. I know both of you are jealous"

"I'm not jealous" scoffed Mercutio.

"I..." Benvolio trailed off.

"Whatever. I thought you knew better. Come on, Gabriel. I'll see you some other time, Benvolio"


	32. Hermia And Juliet Find Out

Dawnstar94 - Oh, that's good. I'm glad you had a good birthday! Is your birthday on the 9th? Because that's my birthday too!

iluvshinjimina - 'Montague Club' I love it!

Sorry for the delay, everyone, went to go and see Wicked yesterday and the day before, I was busy. Also, please don't be offended the 'special' bit with Hermia later. She just likes being silly and messing around, no offense meant by that.

* * *

><p>Juliet was disturbed from her computer game as Hermia barged in the room, wearing crumpled party clothes.<p>

"Guess what, guess what!" Hermia shrieked, jumping down onto her bed. She grabbed a cushion and hugged it to her chest.

"What? You scared the life out of me!"

"But guess what!" Hermia cried excitedly, throwing the cushion away and sitting upright.

"Get your Doc Martin's off my duvet! You'll get mud all over it and mum and nurse will get mad at me"

Hermia swung her legs down the edge of Juliet's bed obediently "Now guess what!"

"What!" cried Juliet.

Hermia beamed delightedly "You know our ugly cousin Tibby?"

"He's not ugly! And he's not that bad, honestly. It's all Rosaline"

"Exactly!" exclaimed Hermia "Which brings me onto my guess what"

"What!" shouted Juliet, getting up to tackle her. Hermia giggled, as she knew they were only play fighting.

"Tybalt and Rosaline are together!"

"What?" asked Juliet, suddenly stopping her game.

Hermia nodded eagerly "They're together. Mercutio and Benvolio were waiting outside the cinema for Benvolio's girlfriend Rose, when they spotted them across the road in the bakery. Rosaline was still wearing the dress she wore to the Chastity Ball, Tybalt was wearing the clothes he wore yesterday, and he was buying croissants, and Benvolio and Mercutio. Saw. Them. Kiss!"

"Really?" asked Juliet, sitting up eagerly.

"Yes!" Hermia jumped up, waving her casted arm about "They kissed! And they were wearing yesterday's clothes – they obviously spent the night together. Not so virginal now!"

"What kind of a slut does that? Make a chastity oath in the name of God and then break it a few hours later?"

"I know, right!" Hermia nodded "Mercutio said he couldn't believe it. I mean, I know they're always flirting and cuddling and the other day Tybalt had his hand on her leg under the dinner table, but I mean, after ten odd years of keeping us guessing, they're together!"

"This is hilarious...but dreadful!" cried Juliet.

"Why?" asked Hermia.

"Because now Tybalt is going to turn evil! You know what a bad influence she is on him. Well, what a bad influence they are on each other. Rosaline encourages him to get into trouble, and then she stands back and doesn't get her hands dirty"

"Really? I thought it was that Rosaline was a squeaky clean goodie two-shoes to the adults and who let Tybalt drag her down a little"

"Whatever. This is bad news" said Juliet, going to stand by the window.

"No, it's funny news! Because you know Romeo Montague"

"No. I don't know Romeo Montague. I'm not allowed to talk or even look at them. Is he the dorky guy?"

"No! That's Benvolio. Romeo is the one who falls in love all the time. And I mean, all the time. Anyway, he is 'in love' with Rosaline and Mercutio rang him to tell him all about Tybalt and Rosaline being together. He still didn't believe either of them! It was so sad. I mean, I wasn't there but Mercutio told me it was"

"So what's going to happen?" asked Juliet.

That's where Hermia faltered. She slumped down "No idea"

"So now what? Tybalt can't be with her! She's a money-grabbing user. He deserves better" said Juliet firmly.

Hermia raised her eyebrows. Neither of them deserved the other, really. It mystified her as to why Rosaline was bothering with Tybalt in her quest to climb the social ladder. Tybalt wasn't in line to inherit anything. He wasn't important or anything. For all his bravado, he only had the name. He'd have to work for money and status throughout his life, and knowing Tybalt, he wouldn't do that unless he took up drug dealing or something.

"We have to warn him before she cons him out of everything!" fretted Juliet.

Hermia would have dearly loved to have seen Tybalt conned out of everything and living in the gutter so that she could laugh at him along with the Montagues. Big, powerful, tough guy Tybalt, who thought he could fight and beat up people as he pleased, reduced to nothing.

"This can only end badly. He already gets in enough trouble as it is. I don't want him getting in trouble. Remember when he got beat up for dating that girl who he wasn't supposed to do? Look what happened to Aunty Regina!"

Hermia didn't care what happened to her least favourite cousin. He was a bully who told everyone that she wasn't really Lady Capulet's daughter to anyone who would listen. But then, she did kind of like Regina. Sometimes. When she wasn't cooking 'Sausage Surprise!'

"What are you going to do, Hermia?"

Hermia rolled her eyes "Well, first of all, we need to find out if they really are going out. Let's ask Nursie"

Hermia swung out of Juliet's room, with her half-sister following in her wake. She reached the stairwell, balanced on the banister and hollered "Hey, Nursie! Get your butt out here, we need ya!"

The nurse appeared around the corner "Stop that! What has the lady of the house told you about silly behaviour and rude language! No, I'm not going to laugh at you! All right, it is a bit funny. You are quite humorous. What do you need me for?"

"Right, you know our ugly cousin Tybalt?" began Hermia.

"He's not ugly!" protested Juliet.

"Yes, I know Tybalt"

"And you know Juliet's bitchy cousin Rosaline?"

"I hate her" said Juliet.

"Yes, I know Rosaline"

"Well, according to Benny and Merc, they were spotted together this morning, kissing!" declared Hermia triumphantly "So, we want to know. Do you know if they're together?"

"Of course I don't!" replied the nurse "You'd have to ask your mother and father"

"Ok" Hermia walked calmly along the corridor to Lord and Lady Capulet's room, with Juliet hurrying after. She thumped the door "Hello? Is there anyone home?"

"She won't be in there, and she'll be cross with you for disturbing her" said Juliet.

Hermia raised her eyebrows "So she'll be cross with me for disturbing her whilst she's in her room, when she isn't actually in her room?"

Juliet was about to protest when Lady Capulet emerged from the bathroom "What is going on out here?"

"Wassup!" greeted Hermia.

"Egues! She's being...odd again!" called Lady Capulet.

"You remind me of Mercutio's mum. She thinks there's something wrong with him. Something not right in the head. Like he's...special" said Hermia in a silly voice.

"Stop that" said Lady Capulet uselessly "I don't understand you the slightest"

Lord Capulet's study door opened "What are you doing now?"

"She's being funny!" giggled Juliet "Isn't she funny, nurse?"

"No! I mean yes! No, I meant no. Hermia, stop that, you aren't funny. Don't pull that face or you'll make me laugh. No! Stop it!"

"Hermia Georgiana Capulet! Whatever you're doing, pack it in!" yelled Lord Capulet.

"Sorry" said Hermia, still using the stupid voice. Juliet was killing herself with laughter.

"So, Dadda, have you heard the news?" asked Hermia.

"What news?"

"Well, apparently, according to Bennykins and Wooshy-wo"

"Who the hell are Bennykins and Wooshy-wo?" scoffed Lord Capulet.

"A pair of sexy Montagues" replied Hermia "Anyway, you know Rosaline and Tybalt?"

"Yes, I do know Rosaline and Tybalt! And don't ever call the Montagues sexy again!" snapped Lord Capulet "They are a disgusting, good for nothing, immature and irritating family of shit!"

"Ouch" said Hermia "Well, anyway, apparently, they saw Tybalt and Rosaline together this morning!"

Lord Capulet rolled his eyes "Of course they're together. Regina tells me they've gone out for the day"

"No, together together! They're an item! Mercutio and Benvolio watched them kiss across the street"

"I can't say I haven't seen this coming" said Lady Capulet.

"Me neither" added the nurse.

"I thought Rosaline was taking this chastity pledge?" added Juliet.

"You can still date someone, just not have sex with them" added the nurse.

"Not when you're dating someone as randy as Tybalt!" snorted Juliet.

"That's enough! Juliet, you shouldn't think about things like that!" scolded Lady Capulet.

"You mean sex?" said Hermia bluntly. She turned to her dad "Have they spoken to any of you yet?"

"No" said Lord Capulet "And I forbid you from doing anything stupid. Like...making prank calls and crap. I had about seven last night! I have a good mind to lock you up in your room for once and for all!"


	33. High Flying, Adored

Dawnstar94 - Never mind! By the way...Hermianess. Love it!

Oreoskidz - No problem! I shouldn't be slacking off and posting on here anyway...I should be writing a biology research paper, an English essay, completing my media studies coursework and studying for a psychology test! Oh, and completing my extended project qualification!

iluvshinjimina - I usually update daily, so don't worry!

So, Verona's starting to catch up with our favourite couple, but meanwhile, Rosaline is enjoying life at the top. Also, the chapter's title comes from one of the songs in my favourite musical, Evita. And the bit about the Enrichment class is based on my own experiences from last year. Some of my friends were in the top group.

* * *

><p>After the ball, Rosaline returned to school the pride and joy of Sister Agnes and the majority of the teaching staff. They smiled at her in corridors, asked her how her work was going and such. The younger students would acknowledge her, and once she overheard some year sevens saying how they admired her. This made Rosaline far happier than she thought possible.<p>

She and Tybalt told their family that they were seeing each other shortly after they'd made love. Lord Capulet remarked with 'About time, too!' and Regina said her usual 'Oooh, my little Tibby is all grown getting such a lovely girlfriend!' However, she and Tybalt had agreed to keep their relationship quiet at school, due to the meddling members of staff, who very much disliked the rogue boy.

And it also seemed possible that Rosaline and her brother might have some sort of family relationship too. Gabriel smiled at her whenever he saw her, and even drew Tybalt a picture of the Montagues looking ugly to try and get along with him. He was quite sweet, in a weird, twisted psycho boy way.

But things with Angelo had still not been sorted out. It was the one blot on her perfect existence. Rosaline had everything, the beautiful clothes she had always wanted, the perfect hair cut and style, perfect shoes, perfect nails, and she was on track for some perfect GCSE grades. The teachers hurried around, trying to motivate the other students, and there was Rosaline, ready and waiting for whatever the exam would throw at her. She had risen from being little more than just another girl in an impoverished background, waiting to become yet another government statistic, and now she was everything. This was just glorious. Nothing would stop her now.

She wondered about Angelo when she had Enrichment class. In reality, Enrichment was where the teachers divided the students into groups based on ability, and the top group were told all about top universities and carers, whilst the bottom group ate biscuits. Naturally, Rosaline was in the top group. Last year, Tybalt had been in the bottom group.

Mr. Bastien had been on at her to take maths at A Level and to study it at university. Rosaline took one look at the maths nerds clustered together and wanted to barf. Sure, she wanted to do well, but she did not want have to spend time in their disgusting company! They made her think of that gross little Montague, Benvolio. The thought of sitting next to him in a university class made her feel even sicker. Gabriel had made some highly amusing remarks about him, which had both her and Tybalt in stitches.

In this particular enrichment lesson they were supposed to be looking at careers. She didn't care for the sciency side of maths, really, she was far more interested in money. Such as how to make profits, what happened if there wasn't enough and so on. Having helped her mother run a household for the past couple of years, she was a natural.

Economics looked good. She could get very far in that. It had money, as she wanted, and it needed intellect to understand the mechanics of how everything worked. Rosaline could do that. After all, her father was a politician, who was technically the second most powerful man in Verona after Escalus, and he had to have a good knowledge of how the economy worked. It was in her blood. She was certainly better at money management than her Oftmoro grandparents had been!

Mr. Bastien peered over her shoulder "Oh, Rosaline. A wise choice. I think you should consider Bocconi University in Milan. It's the seventeenth best university for economics in the world. It's about two hours away, and you'd definitely be up for the challenge"

Rosaline tapped it into the search engine. Well, it certainly seemed within her achievement range, and Milan was full of fashionable shops and fashionable clothes. That definitely suited her. The only thing that worried her was the price tag. The costs of living, the cost of her tuition fees, books, food, a computer, and so on. That was where she fell down.

The teachers didn't really care what background you had. As long as they could show your grades off and shove you into the best universities and show off about it. It was unrealistic to expect that a student who achieved the best grades in the class was always from a comfortable middle class background. It was pretty unfair to dangle opportunities within their grade range but not price range in front of their faces.

Rosaline didn't have enough to go. Even if she got a job, even if Tybalt lent her some money, Rosaline knew that without getting the account books and the calculator out that would never cover it. It would be cheeky to ask her Uncle and Aunt for more because technically, she had nothing to do with Lord Capulet.

But there was one person who did have enough money to pay for it. Especially considering that he had a son who was hell bent on becoming a ballerina rather than getting a university education. And especially considering that he hadn't done a single thing for her during her childhood, maybe it was time Angelo Fulgencio coughed up.

Maybe he could become part of her life again. Rosaline didn't have to like him, but she was so good at pretending to keep a good reputation with people that it wouldn't be too hard. It sounded like an ingenious idea. Gabriel would help her, too. He'd already stolen Angelo's credit card and raked him up in a few thousand Euros debt. He'd help her con money out of Angelo, no problem.


	34. The Plan

Dawnstar94 - Thanks! I'm in my second to last year of high school in the UK, so I know how you're feeling.

iluvshinjimina - They're turning out a lot cuter than I expected them too. We'll see how things go with Angelo.

Rosaline's at the top. She'd the queen. But what happens to people at the top? They get knocked off.

* * *

><p>"I've got it!" announced Juliet, coming into Hermia's room. Hermia glanced down at her sister from where she stood on top of her chest of drawers, sketching a picture on the ceiling with her good hand. Juliet was wearing jeans and a comfortable hoodie, although both her hands were in the front pouch of her hoodie.<p>

"What?"

Juliet sighed fondly at her sister's antics. Sometimes she wished she was more like her younger half-sister. Fun, daring, punky, tomboy, a bit of a rebel, and completely boy mad.

"About how we're going to get Rosaline" Juliet's eyes glittered.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Do you want to hear it?"

"Go on then" said Hermia, still sketching.

"Ok, so everyone thinks she's a beautiful virginal Queen Bee, when in actual fact she's a natural born skank. She lives on the fricking Burry Estate, for fuck's sake"

"Mmm-hmm" said Hermia, frowning as she concentrated.

"And the thing is, behind every image, is a reality. And we know what Rosaline's reality is" said Juliet.

"But no one knows you're a compulsive swearer who wants a belly piercing" Hermia added, smiling indulgently at her sister.

"And that's how it'll stay, since it's between you and me. And Tybalt. He said he'll make a deal with the guys in that piercing parlour across the road from the music store that if they pierce my stomach, then he'll give them discounts"

"This is really interesting. When do I get to hear the plan?"

"I'm coming to it! Anyway, so, all we have to do, is show the world what a slut Rosaline is! And I know how. Kind of"

"What?" asked Hermia, putting down the pencil, and leaping from the chest of drawers onto her bed. She misjudged her jump, and hit her shin "Fuck!"

"Shit, Hermy! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'll just get Lysander to kiss it better" replied Hermia "Carry on"

"Ok, so I was with mum the earlier on, and we had to go to the Burry Estate to drop something off at Aunty Camilla's. Mum was all 'Disgusting place, can't believe it exists, can't believe that asshole Angelo let my sister live here, don't look at it, Juliet darling' but anyway, we got inside, and Rosaline was watching some shallow girly TV show with her scrawny chav gang-"

"Shari and Kaila, urgh" snickered Hermia.

"Livia was washing up, and mum and Aunty Camilla went upstairs to talk in private. I stayed downstairs with Livia, until she started moaning about how Tybalt snored-"

"Tybalt stayed over! Ew, they must have done it in front of her! That's so gross!"

"Shameless" agreed Juliet "I didn't really want to listen, so I went into the front room. They were just talking about make-up and clothes and shoes, the usual, really"

"Boring" nodded Hermia.

"And then Rosaline said something about how she had a headache, and Shari said it was probably the side effects again"

"Of what?" asked Hermia.

"This is where it gets really good" said Juliet, grinning "Rosaline said that she'd thrown away the old brand and got a different type"

"Of what?" begged Hermia.

"And Kaila said that the new type was the best type, and she knew because she was on as well and it worked really well for her. So then, I went upstairs to go to toilet. I was so bored, so I debated spying on mum and Camilla, but then I thought, 'What if the type is still there, in the bathroom bin?'"

"Type of what?" demanded Hermia, rubbing her shin.

"And it was" Juliet pulled out a small box, and handed it over.

Hermia glanced down, and her eyes gleamed "Birth control pills!"

"Yes!"

Hermia shrieked, and flung her arms around Juliet.

"You are amazing! It's got her name on it, and everything!" gasped Hermia "This is it! We're got her!"

"But then I thought" said Juliet "What if she's on it for other reasons, like acne?"

"Rosaline does not have acne" scoffed Hermia.

"But, there are loads of other reasons! Hormonal problems, and stuff!"

"If Rosaline had hormonal problems, we'd know about it" dismissed Hermia.

"And what if she realises they're missing? Will I get in trouble?"

"No, don't think like that" instructed Hermia "She threw them away, they won't be missed. Anyway, you won't be in trouble. I will take the blame for this. You are my little 'in' on Tybalt and I can't lose you. He tells you stuff, right? You're close with each other"

"Yeah, he's like my big brother" replied Juliet "I don't want him to get mad at me or anything"

"I'll say it was me if this comes to light. Don't worry. Now I have these, we just have to catch them at it" Hermia rattled the pills, and then stuffed them at the back of her underwear draw "No one will find these. Keep calm. I'll sort everything out and let me know if you find out anything or need anything. This will work out ok, I promise"

"Yeah" Juliet nodded. The sisters hugged, and then Hermia went back to drawing on the ceiling.


	35. The Bigger Plan

Dawnstar94 - 'lazy cowgirl American' hahaha that made me laugh! And thanks about this year and the next. You too! Although Tybalt and Rosaline currently don't want kids, I imagine they have some later on in their lives, and I've even thought about some names.

So Juliet and Hermia have also kicked off the campaign to bring down Juliet's bitchy cousin. Time to see what Mercutio thinks of it.

* * *

><p>Now that Hermia had her primary evidence, what she needed now was actual proof that Tybalt and Rosaline were an item. She shared her information with Mercutio. Mercutio wasn't hanging around with Romeo and Benvolio all of a sudden, because Romeo was still pining for Rosaline, and Benvolio was still stressing over Rose.<p>

The first time they tried to catch Tybalt and Rosaline in the act had been a failure. Mercutio climbed the drainpipe to Tybalt's room to spy and found him lying on his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, smoking. Tybalt promptly turned around and screamed, and then punched Mercutio through the open window. Hermia nabbed Rosaline's phone and read all of her texts that Tybalt had sent her and was about to forward some of the more lewd ones to Romeo, when she realised that Romeo wouldn't recognise the number and there wouldn't be any proof that Tybalt had sent them to Rosaline, who'd then sent them to him. Mercutio used his mum's credit card to order a video camera, and Hermia tried to plant it in Tybalt's wardrobe, but he caught her, picked her up upside down and shook her until she was sick.

"This sucks" complained Hermia as they meandered along the lunch queue "Rose and Benvolio are falling apart, Tybalt and Rosaline are going from strength to strength, Rosaline's reputation is perfectly intact, Sister Agnes thinks she's a little angel, and most annoyingly, Romeo still wants Rosaline!"

"Look on the plus side. Your cast is coming off soon!" said Mercutio.

"True. I bet I'll have a tan line, and I bet I'll miss seeing your delightful...artwork, shall we call it?"

"What? I like drawing nude people. They have boobies!" shouted Mercutio across the cafeteria. An awkward silence filled the room. He grinned "Carry on"

Then he turned back to Hermia to continue talking.

"I hate it when Romeo falls in love. Benvolio's not so bad. He's only had one girlfriend, but Romeo? Urgh. I hate, hate, hate it! It's all he talks about. If I hear, Rosaline this or Rosaline that again, I am going to scream. It's driving me nuts"

"I know, I know" sighed Hermia "He just...he doesn't get...she's just so...fake!"

She stamped her foot, and grabbed a chicken wrap from a booth. Mercutio grabbed a plate of fries and a bowl of macaroni.

"She pushed me down the stairs" Hermia went on "And one minute she's all, 'Yes, Mr. Bastian, of course I'll take A Levels maths, Mr. Bastian' when she looks down her nose at everyone in the class, or 'Yes, Sister Agnes, of course I'll stay chaste, Sister Agnes' when she's fucking Tybalt, and yes, I know she is. Ugh! I hate her! She's a stupid whore obsessed with clothes and make-up and all that other shallow shit that girls like!"

"Let it out, Hermia. Let it out" said Lysander, joining them as they grabbed muffins.

"The more I think about her, the more I want to hurt her. If only my arm wasn't broken, I could rejoin the girls' rugby team and slam her to the ground with a super tackle"

"Yeah!" encouraged Mercutio, as they paid "I miss watching you strut your stuff on the pitch"

"She looks hot in her shorts, doesn't she?" purred Lysander in her ear. Hermia kissed him on the cheek.

"Sisters don't look hot to me" replied Mercutio, dumping his tray on their usual table.

"Cool older guy cousins who are like brothers that I've never had don't look hot to me either" Hermia added.

"What's Tybalt – the next door neighbour?"

"I wish" muttered Hermia.

"No, you don't. Because he actually is my next door neighbour" interrupted Charles, leaning from down the other end of the table.

"I feel for you, my friend" said Mercutio.

"I need a medal. All night long, I hear them. Him and Rosaline. Moaning, the bed banging against the wall, they're like animals! It's cringey. And I see them too. Through my bedroom window. All day and all night. It's disgusting!"

"Hang on" said Hermia suddenly "Did you just say you saw Tybalt and Rosaline together all day and all night long through your window?"

"Yeah" replied Charles "It's awful, they're like alley cats!"

"Charles" smiled Mercutio "I love you"

"Hang on, are you coming out?" asked Hermia.

"No" Mercutio smiled some more "Charles, I love you, because you, my friend, you, are going to help us catch them at it!"

"Who – Tybalt and Rosaline?"

"Yes! Tybalt and Rosaline. What angle is your room from? How loud are they? Tell me, and I'll take care of the rest" Mercutio leant. He pulled out a scrap of paper, and Hermia bent over as well.

"Well, our rooms are adjacent, there's about a three metre gap between our houses, so I can see everything. And hear everything, even if he doesn't have the window open. Oh, and I've seen him with no clothes on before, so if your plan to catch them both doesn't work, you may get some blackmailing material anyway"

"Ew" breathed Mercutio. But then he sat up, and smiled at their friends "Who's with me? Who's going to help us ruin Rosaline's reputation, expose them to the whole of Verona, and give Romeo a much needed wake up call?"

"Aye!" yelled Hermia, raising her casted arm.

"Aye!" yelled the rest of the boys.


	36. Mean Boys Get Bullied Too

Zelda12343 - No problem! Hope you're feeling better. For some reason, ff wouldn't let me log in yesterday and locked me out too!

Dawnstar94 - I would love friends like Mercutio and Hermia!

iluvshinjimina - I had internet problems yesterday too :(

Sorry about the no update yesterday, ff wouldn't let me log in. So, Hermia and Mercutio are onto Rosaline! Wonder how Gabriel's doing. Gabriel's opinion of PE is heavily based on mine (stupid, pointless, uneducational) and his teacher Mr. Hendon is based on my old PE teacher, who made me quit keyboard lessons because I kept missing parts of her class, except the genders have been reversed.

* * *

><p>PE sucked.<p>

Honestly, it did! The boys in his PE class were so mean. If Gabriel ever dropped the ball, or didn't do something right because he hadn't been paying attention, they all called him 'the sissy faggoted ballerina' which always upset him. It was especially worse when they had to get changed. Gabriel had started changing in the toilets with Juno to avoid it all. Thank God he had his biggest ally with him for this crappy class.

Only, you had to work in groups for a majority of the lesson. Juno and Gabriel always tried to group together, but Mr. Hendon always tried to split them up because apparently 'they didn't pay attention' or 'they didn't work hard enough' He always put Juno into the nerdy boys group and Gabriel into the sporty boys group, as if he was somehow trying to...convert them into his idea of how boys should behave.

Last, but worse of all, was the possibility of getting injured. If Gabriel got injured, then he couldn't dance. And he loathed it when that happened. His dance teacher always got angry at him when it happened. The motto was 'Football not good. Dancing is beautiful!' and by God did Gabriel know it.

"Here he comes, Little Lord Gabriel" jeered David. Gabriel gave him a filthy death glare. Juno gave one as well. Gabriel always wondered why he wasn't yet dead with the amounts of dirty death glares he gave him.

"Boys, that's enough" scolded Mr. Hendon, but Gabriel knew he liked it when the rich loner boy got ridiculed. He wasn't dumb, he could read through people like books. Mr. Hendon hated him, because he didn't conform and didn't do what he, as a male, was supposed to do. Gabriel refused to join any sports teams, would never break out of his small social circle, and he got on better with the girls than the boys.

"Right, one lap around the field and then stretches" commanded Mr. Hendon. Juno and Gabriel were last out of the changing room, and bounced along the field. Gabriel may have been slim, but he certainly had stamina built up from dance class. He could make the run, but Juno couldn't. So Gabriel hung back a little for him. Then, for stretches, they stood apart from the other boys, and placed themselves right in the view of some female Sixth Formers with a free period. Gabriel had already knotted up his shirt, rolled up his sleeves, and Juno had copied. Mr. Hendon gave them both a filthy look, so Gabriel just smirked at him. It always unnerved the man.

"Today" Mr. Hendon began "We're running the cross country"

The boys moaned in distress. Gabriel rolled his eyes. To his left, Juno cried out in despair.

"Shut up" hissed Gabriel, nudging him "We'll just hide in that garage like we did last year"

"Oh yeah" mumbled Juno "Sorry Gabriel"

They headed towards the exit of the school field, and then bounded off. Gabriel bounced along, Juno staggered along. After turning into a residential area by the edge of the wasteland that they should be running through, Gabriel and Juno let the crowd disperse through the weeds and slipped inside the garage. It was deserted, as always. Juno sank gratefully down on a box. Gabriel flapped his shirt up and down to cool himself.

"Why...do we do...the cross country...every year...there's no point!"

"No idea" Gabriel rolled his eyes, mooching around and investigating the area.

"All they do...is take our times...It's not like...it's important!"

"I know" Gabriel waved away Juno's speech with a gesture of his hand, before sitting down next to him "Are you coming to the Moonlight Cafe after school with me?"

"We're going to the Moonlight Cafe?"

"We are now. I don't have dance class tonight, and I'm pretty sick of eating salad all day and night, so we're going"

"Of course I'll come with you, Gabriel!" exclaimed Juno.

"Good" Gabriel reached down his shirt, and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. He lit one up, and slowly inhaled.

"I thought you were giving up because it was affecting your dancing?"

"_Trying_ to give up" corrected Gabriel.

"Oh. I see" Juno stretched out further on the box, as his breath came back. He glanced out a crack in the garage door "I think they're all gone now"

"Good" smirked Gabriel "PE is so fucking pointless. I'm fit already, so it's not like I need to learn how to not be a fat whale, and I don't exactly want to be a footballer. I want to be a great danseur noble, not a stupid brainless idle dosser kicking a football repetitively"

Juno smiled at him, but there was a crash as David and his buddies Liam, Math and George stumbled through.

"You two?" grunted David "Just what I'd have expected. The sissy faggoted ballerina and his boyfriend who has a girl's name!"

"I beg your pardon?" hissed Gabriel "If anything, this is rather unexpected. Mr. Sports Captain is flunking the cross country. Won't your own boyfriend be disappointed in you!"

"Boyfriend?" coughed David, not understanding.

"Well, you know, Mr. Hendon. So now I assume you two aren't..." Gabriel trailed off with one of his fancy hand gestures. Juno giggled in admiration. Gabriel just smirked delightedly.

"Shut up, Billy" retorted David.

"What did you call me?" demanded Gabriel.

"Billy. Like what Daddy calls you! Billy Elliot, Billy No Mates!"

"Of course I don't have mates, I have friends. Mates is a vulgar piece of slang used by chavs and common preps to describe their close acquaintances. How I hate to hear people slaughter our beautiful language!" Gabriel replied. David and the jocks looked confused, and Gabriel knew that he had, once again, outsmarted them. Why were jocks so ignorant? Why did they exist? There was no purpose for their being.

"Yeah, well, you don't have any real friends, you're just together because you're going out!" David attempted again.

"Oh David. How sad it is that you cannot accept that I am far more talented at dancing than you'll ever be at football, so you resort to insulting me and mocking my sexual orientation"

"You aren't talented, you're a loser! Face it, Gabriel, no one actually likes you. We all think you're pathetic. And by the way, we just finished the cross country. Mr. Hendon is looking for you two. You're in trouble!" David sang, trying to goad Gabriel.

"So, you're saying you completed the cross country in less than approximately three minutes, as Juno and I were running behind you by about twenty metres when we snuck in here. You either doubled back after us, or you turned into Sonic the Hedgehog in a matter of seconds and did complete the cross country in three minutes, which seems painfully incorrect, since you aren't blue. And whatever trouble I appear to be in with Mr. Hendon, I do not care. He has no authority over me unless I let him. Which I never will, of course"

Enough was enough for David. He stomped forwards and shoved Gabriel backwards. Gabriel fell awkwardly on a box, landing with a sharp corner stabbing him on his back. He cried out in pain, and Juno shrieked. Composing himself, Gabriel rose angrily.

"How dare you touch me!" he seethed "Perhaps I ought to remind you of who my half-sisters boyfriend happens to be. A certain Mr. Capulet!"

David suddenly turned white. The other jock boys muttered amongst themselves. Sure, they were the sporty boys, meaning they were the most popular and therefore most respected amongst the rest of their peers, but chavs...chavs were different. Chavs didn't answer to anyone. It may seem that David and his sporty gang ruled the school, but in reality, it was the chavs. If someone was going to get beaten up, it was Tybalt who'd give the go ahead.

"See you later, Gabriel"

David scuttled out of the garage with his friends, whilst Gabriel laughed. He laughed until he was sure they had gone, before bursting into tears at David's insults and the pain in his back, and being consoled by Juno.


	37. We Are Making Evil Plans

Dawnstar 94 - I always hated PE, and in my first year at secondary school I wanted to learn to play an instrument, but the lessons would take place during the day, during class. My piano teacher always set them suring my PE class. I was only eleven and really shy, so I didn't know what else to do. My PE teacher was a cow and just screamed at me for missing class.

Zelda12343 - I don't know why, but I always think of Juno as a boys name. Probably because of the 'o' sound. The other day I realised it was the name of one of the goddesses in the Tempest, so all Gabriel's friends have girls names now!

Oreoskidz - People laughed at me in PE because I'm chubby and short-sighted, and could never see the ball. I was hit in the face at least four times in the last two years, and one of those occasions made me go deaf for a week. Not that the teachers cared or anything.

iluvshinjimina - We did something similar for our last year of doing PE. It was still rubbish though! My favourite PE lesson would be when chavs raided the sports equipment shed, stole everything and we had nothing to do in the lesson. HAHAHAHAHA.

Well, anyway, I've chatted long enough! So, you actually feel sorry for Gabriel for once? Let's see him and Rosaline hatch some bitchy schemes together!

* * *

><p>"Stupid David" said Lavinia, spooning cream from a strawberry milkshake.<p>

"He's a twat" added Juno "He's just jealous of Gabriel. They're all so jealous of you, aren't they?"

"Mmm-hmm" replied Gabriel, swirling a piece of cream around on his cake.

"Don't you want it?" asked Ceres, another one of his friends.

"Of course I want it. I bought it" snapped Gabriel. He looked at the clock nervously "It's five to four"

"I know. What time do you have to be back?" asked Lavinia.

"Officially, my curfew is nine, but I'll go home when I want. It's not like Angelo would notice if I was in the house or not!" replied Gabriel. His entourage giggled and applauded him.

"I have to be back by five if class isn't on" replied Lavinia.

"You'll be home by then" Gabriel fiddled with a silver ring "I hope they turn up"

"Who?" asked Juno.

"Livia and Rosaline" replied Gabriel "The thing is, we've kind of decided, that since Angelo is such a douche...neither of us three really want anything to do with him. But that doesn't mean we can't have anything to do with each other. We arranged to meet up here at four, since I'd be here anyway"

"Oh, Gabe! That's so sweet!" exclaimed Juno, leaning over to hug him.

"Don't call me Gabe! My name is Gabriel" snapped Gabriel.

"Sorry, Gabriel" Juno sat back up. He reached into his bag, and pulled out a magazine "Look, I got Vogue in the mail again. Who wants to look through it?"

Gabriel glanced at the front page, at the woman on the cover "She is so ugly"

"I don't think she's that bad" replied Juno.

"No, she is fucking hideous" Gabriel dismissed.

"You're right, Gabriel, she is so ugly" said Juno. The door to the cafe opened, and Livia and Rosaline entered. Gabriel sat up straight, and his friends that lounged around him sat up as well. Rosaline noticed him, and nodded. Livia followed her over, and they sat down in the two seats in front of Gabriel that were empty.

"Livia, you've already met Gabriel. But he has something to say to you" began Rosaline.

"I'm sorry about the wedding dress thing" Gabriel said on cue "I don't know why I did it. I was just mad at Angelo, I suppose. He might have walked out you, but he doesn't exactly dote on his remaining child either"

"That's ok...I suppose" replied Livia. Rosaline smiled approvingly at her. Gabriel smiled with relief. He pulled out a credit card from his blazer.

"I stole Angelo's credit card this morning and I know the number. Go to the counter, order what you want, and let me treat you. And I'll introduce you to everyone when you've got your food"

Livia accepted the card and went up to select a cake. Rosaline remained sitting.

"How's it going with Tybalt?" asked Gabriel.

"Perfect" smiled Rosaline.

"Sister Agnes still thinks you're the Madonna and not the whore?"

"Of course"

Livia sat back down, carrying a giant slab of fudge cake and a large mug of hot chocolate. Gabriel turned to her and Rosaline "Ok, everyone, these are my half-sisters, Livia and Rosaline. This is my best friend Juno"

"Hi" said Juno, glowing as Gabriel called him his best friend.

"And this is Ceres, Iris, Lavinia, and this is Bassianus, who is dating Lavinia"

"Hello" said Livia.

"Hi" said Rosaline. Gabriel's friends greeted in response.

"You all look really alike" said Lavinia "But the dictator isn't blond, is he?"

"Nope. But the dictator has a fetish for blonde women, which kind of explains it" replied Gabriel. Juno, Ceres and Iris all giggled in appreciation.

"Oh my goodness, would you just look at this model's hair? She looks like she's been dragged through the red light district backwards" scoffed Ceres, showing Gabriel.

"Oh my God, she does! Yeuch. Look, Rosaline" Gabriel shoved the magazine under Rosaline and Livia's noses.

"She looks like Beatrix Montague" giggled Livia.

"She does!" Gabriel exclaimed in appreciation "Oh my God, why does that girl dye her hair blonde? It looks awful"

"I know. It doesn't suit her skin tone at all. And her roots are so dark, they show after about a week. She looks terrible" gossiped Livia.

"I think it looks like cheese. Melty cheese, on a pizza. Yuck, yuck, yuck"

Livia and Rosaline both burst out giggling again.

"She is such a little slut" added Rosaline.

"Tybalt once paid me to spy on her. I went around her house, and her whole room is bright pink, and she has posters of Edward Cullen and Justin Bieber all over her bedroom walls"

"That is so pathetic" added Gabriel.

"And Benvolio told me she kisses them all every night before she goes to bed. And so she told me that Benvolio wets the bed!"

"He WHAT!" shrieked Gabriel.

"Wets the bed. Well, used too" said Livia "His mum died of cancer when he was ten, and let's just say he didn't take it very well"

"Oh my God, I bet he must stink! What a loser"

"I know, right?" said Livia "And do you want to know who Beatrix fancies?"

"Oh my God, who?"

"David"

Gabriel's friends burst out in laughter.

"David is gross! Ew, she must be, like, desperate or something" said Gabriel.

"I know!" Livia laughed.

"Speaking of David" said Gabriel, leaning in closer to Rosaline "How would Tybalt like to do a little job for me?"

"What kind of job?" Rosaline almost barked.

"Nothing illegal, I just need him to beat someone up for me. I'll pay him if needs be" Gabriel rubbed his back and winced.

"Who is it?" asked Livia.

"David, Beatrix's crush, came bothering me about the dancer thing again, and then he shoved me on a box" whined Gabriel, putting on a sympathy face. His friends all sighed sympathetically for emphasis "And I want Tybalt to beat him up"

Gabriel's friends gloated.

"Yeah, he'll do it. Especially if we mention that Beatrix fancies David" said Rosaline.

"No problem. I'll give Tybalt an address and tell him where to find him" said Gabriel, rubbing his back.

"David is a pig" said Livia.

"You can say that again!" replied Gabriel. Rosaline smiled approvingly at her siblings, and stole a piece of fudge from Livia's cake.

"Hey! Get your own"

"I won't eat a whole one. I'm not hungry"

"I'm not that hungry either, but I bought this piece of chocolate cake. I don't think I can finish it alone" said Gabriel.

"Why don't we share it?" proposed Rosaline.

"Great idea" Gabriel began to cut it in half, but his fingers slipped and he ended up with his knuckles stuck in the cake. The group burst out laughing. Gabriel pulled his knuckles out "Ew!"

"Here" said Rosaline, handing him a napkin. Gabriel cleaned his hand as best he could "I'll go and get us another. I assume we won't want to eat knuckle sandwich"

"This time, can we have a strawberry tart? I couldn't make my mind up" asked Gabriel.

"Sure"

"She seems sweet" whispered Lavinia in Gabriel's ear. He smiled at her "I'd better head off with Bassianus. I'll leave you to it. Have fun"

"See you at class tomorrow, Lavinia" said Gabriel.

"Bye...Gabe!"

"Hey!" shouted Gabriel, but he was smiling too. Lavinia blew him a kiss, paid for her milkshake, and then she and Bassianus left.

"She seems nice" said Livia.

"Lavinia is lovely" agreed Juno "I think I ought to go as well. What about you lot?"

"Yes, my parents want me back soon" said Ceres. They got up and paid as Rosaline settled down with her and Gabriel's strawberry tart.

"Here we go"

"Cheers" said Gabriel "I don't usually get to eat sweet stuff. I have to stay slim"

"Why's that?" asked Livia, tucking in.

"I'm a ballet dancer, technically, a danseur. And you need to be slim"

"I used to dance" said Livia, wistfully.

"What made you stop?" asked Gabriel.

"Not enough money for the classes" shrugged Livia. Gabriel felt sadness wash over him and settle in his heart. This was weird. It was like seeing a parallel of himself. He couldn't imagine not dancing, or not having the money for all of his clothes and hobbies. He and Rosaline had discussed her university situation, and he had promised to help her. He felt like he had to do something. This was his _family_, for God's sake!

"I'm sorry Angelo's been such an ass to you" he replied softly.

"He's an ass to you as well by the sounds of things" Livia dismissed "It's ok. I want to do something else anyway"

"What's that?" asked Gabriel.

"I want to be a vet. I love animals, but we never got to have a pet. Not only because we couldn't afford it, but because a certain sister of mine hates cats"

"Shut up!" hissed Rosaline.

"How can you hate cats?" cried Gabriel "Cats are lovely! Especially Persian cats! They are so beautiful!"

"Are you sure you're not somehow related to Tybalt's mum or something?" asked Rosaline.

"Of course I'm not. Why's that?"

"She loves cats" said Rosaline.

"She adores cats" corrected Livia.

"She's obsessed with cats. She used to dress Tybalt up in a cat costume when he was a baby" finished Rosaline "If I remember rightly, last time Tybalt and I counted them all, she has ten"

"Aww, that's so cute!" cooed Gabriel "How lovely! When I move out, I am going to adopt as many cats and dogs as I want! I love animals! I get on better with animals than I do with people. They understand me better. If I didn't want to be a dancer, I'd set up an animal rescue home or something. Or a vegetarian restaurant. Because I like animals so much, I'm veggie"

"I tried to go veggie, but mum told me to pack it in and said it was just a fad" said Livia.

"I've got some great recipe books at home" nodded Gabriel "Angelo said the same, but it just made me all the more determined to stop eating meat"

"It wasn't practical for us either. We just eat whatever is in the cupboard. Perhaps I'll go veggie when I'm older" Livia decided. They had finished their cakes, and so Gabriel asked for the bill and paid with Angelo's credit card.

"Will he tell you off?" asked Livia.

"Yes, but I don't care" They got up, and headed towards the door. Once outside, they continued chatting for a while.

"Have you thought anymore about the plan?" asked Rosaline.

"Yes. I have. I need to get you two talking again" explained Gabriel "So, next time Escalus has a party, make sure you go with Tybalt. Then you'll get the chance to talk to Angelo. But don't be too eager or he'll catch on"

"I know that" replied Rosaline, with a roll of her eyes.

"What plan?" asked Livia.

"I'll explain when we get home" answered Rosaline "If you want to go to university to be a vet, and if I want to go to Bocconi in Milan, then you'll help us. Won't you?"

"Of course she will" said Gabriel confidently "We'll get our inheritance, which we deserve, and Angelo will be so sorry he fucked with our lives. We don't need him; we need each other"

When it was time for them to leave, Gabriel hugged Rosaline and then Livia, and hoped to see them again.


	38. Well, One Plan Fails

Oreoskidz - I love cats! I think I am turning into Regina. As for PE, I was best at Dodgeball. I was always the last one standing, and then I'd have five balls all chucked at me at once. The class called it 'The Ultimate American Bully Sport'

Zelda12343 - I'm getting confused myself! Let's see how many of them come into fruitation.

So it appears the Fulgencio/Oftmoro half-siblings have become friends. Let's skip over to Tybalt's house.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Rosaline walked along the road, tired but also happy. Everything was looking up. She would get money to go to Bocconi, she was getting on with her brother, she was popular, prettier than any of the other girls at school, and she knew she would do brilliantly in her exams. She just knew it.<p>

Her feet automatically found their way towards Tybalt's house. She was looking forward to telling him about how things had gone with her brother and sister. It was pleasing to know that Gabriel wasn't such a snarky little bitch as she had originally thought. He had an amazing sense of humour, and whilst Rosaline had never liked animals, he seemed to care for them a great deal.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Rosaline heard the chants before she heard them. Her feet broke into a run, and sure enough, outside Tybalt's house, he was tussling with none other than Mercutio Vincentino.

"Get him, Wooshy-wo!" screamed Hermia, waving her casted arm in the air.

"How dare you try and film me!" roared Tybalt, punching Mercutio in the face. Mercutio shoved him backwards so that he staggered.

"Give him what he has coming, Ty!" shouted Sam. Rosaline pushed her way through.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"This faggot" growled Tybalt "Was setting up cameras in my neighbour's window to spy on me!"

Rosaline gasped.

"Oh, Tibby, I assume you didn't want to be a film star!" giggled Mercutio, prancing around him, shoving him once again.

"You fucking pervert!" grunted Tybalt. His nose was bleeding, he had a cut lip, and bruises were blossoming on his arms. Mercutio looked a little worse off. He had a black eye, a cut on his cheek, and several grazes.

"Stop it, stop it! You'll kill each other!" cried Benvolio.

"Grow a pair, Benvolio!" snapped Mercutio, kicking Tybalt between the legs "Whatever you and your little girlfriend have got going, playing with Romeo's head, you better stop it!"

"Guys, that's enough!" gasped Charles, the neighbour in question.

"Tibby, what are you doing?" Regina called "Tibby!"

Mercutio and Tybalt rolled on the floor, with no sign of stopping. Regina gasped horrified. Rosaline wanted to cheer Tybalt on – Mercutio was a dick and she loved seeing Tybalt giving him what he had coming, but Regina never liked it when Tybalt got hurt.

"That's enough!" commanded Rosaline "Mercutio, get lost. No one wants you around here!"

"Oooh, listen to Rosaline!" mocked Hermia "Beat him up, Mercutio! He deserves it, fucking chav"

"Tibby, be careful!" called Regina. Charles' mum came hurrying out of her house.

"If you two don't stop that within five minutes, I'm calling the police!" she threatened "I have had enough of you!" she jabbed a finger in Tybalt's direction "You are a disgrace to this street! I am sick of opening my door in the mornings and seeing you lying drunk in the gutter. I've heard rumours of drugs, and you shouldn't even be driving a car. Stop that!"

Mercutio and Tybalt finally broke apart. Mercutio stuck his tongue out defiantly at Tybalt and stalked off with Hermia and Benvolio. Charles disappeared inside of his house and his mother followed, leaving Rosaline with Tybalt and Regina.

"You all right?" asked Rosaline.

"Fine" growled Tybalt. He stomped into the house, with Rosaline following.

"Sit down" she instructed, pointing to a chair. Tybalt obediently sat down in one of the dining hall chairs after shoving a cat off of it. Regina fussed around.

"My poor baby!"

"Calm down, Regina. Can you go and get me some plasters, antiseptic cream and a towel?" asked Rosaline.

"Why?" asked Tybalt.

"Look at the state of you!"

"I said I was fine" glowered Tybalt. Regina emerged, holding the items.

"My poor, poor little Tibby! I will beat those bad nasty Montagues with a rolling pin if I have to! Setting up a camera!" cried Regina, dumping the items on the kitchen table. Rosaline gently pressed the towel to Tybalt's nose and titled his head back.

"Pinch your nose there, and hold the towel like this" instructed Rosaline. She slowly dabbed at his split lip with the edge of the towel and then rubbed some antiseptic on. Regina hovered in the hallway, occasionally fussing over something.

"What happened?" asked Rosaline, cleaning a graze on his face.

"I was in my room" grunted Tybalt "And I looked out the window. Mercutio was hanging out Charles' window, fixing up some camera, pointing at my window. So I yelled at him, demanded he came downstairs to have it out, and he did, and it turns out Hermia and Benvolio were with him. No sign of the other one. I started beating him up, and that's when you turned up"

"Why was he pointing a camera at your window?" asked Rosaline.

"To spy on us!" yelled Tybalt "Creep. Turns out he knows we're together now, and he thinks it one great big joke, and he wanted to film us having sex to give to Romeo on a DVD"

"Tibby?" asked Regina timidly.

"What?" snapped Tybalt.

"Don't worry!" replied Regina, seeing the look on his face. Tybalt moved the towel as his nose had stopped bleeding. With a wet flannel, Rosaline dabbed away the remaining blood, and then placed a plaster on his cheek over a cut.

"Hopefully that won't scar"

"I hope it does. Then I'll look tough!" Tybalt slammed his fist on the table.

"Pack it in, Tybalt. You aren't impressing anyone with this 'I'm so tough' talk"

"Fine" grumbled Tybalt, letting her clean a scratch on his arm. Regina had shuffled away into the living room and Rosaline heard her start cooing over one of her cats instead. She brushed Tybalt's sweaty hair off his face.

"You know, Tibby, you are kind of cute when you're angry" she whispered.

"Hmmph!"


	39. The Ice Skating Rink

Dawnstar94 - No problem, I just like it when at least one person reviews so I have some feedback to work on before I post the next chapter. Don't worry about the bitchy PE teacher, I don't have to do PE anymore and my mum totally pwned her at Parent's Evening.

So, Hermy-wa and Wooshy-wo's plan failed the first time. Let's see how they do this time round. And also, hope you won't get too mad at me for what happens to Benny. I put some of my own feelings at being teased by various classmates into it.

* * *

><p>"That was an epic fail" stated Mercutio, lacing up his skating boots at the ice skating rink.<p>

"I told you!" Benvolio added, as he laced up his "Couldn't Romeo come?"

"Nope. But Hermy-wa will be here shortly. Rose is coming too, right?"

"You've been hanging out with Hermia a lot lately, haven't you?"

"Yep. Why, don't you like her?"

"She's ok. A bit scary sometimes"

"Scary?"

"Like when she hit on me!"

"She hits on everyone. Don't flatter yourself"

Benvolio shook his head, looking at his friend's black eye. To add insult to injury, Benvolio had later witnessed both Tybalt and Rosaline behind his dad's nightclub, making out. In short, life sucked for them. After being joined by Hermia and Rose they skated onto the rink. Benvolio slipped up several times, and Mercutio had to pull him around a few times.

"Isn't that Livia?" asked Hermia, pointing.

"Who?"

"Livia. Juliet's cousin. Rosaline's sister. And she's with...Gabriel. Yuck"

"He's not that bad" interrupted Rose "He's quite sweet actually. I should go and say hello"

"Don't. I don't want him hanging around with us. He's the most stupidest, ridiculous person that ever lived. He looks and acts like a girl. He sucks" said Hermia.

"He doesn't suck!"

"He does!" goaded Hermia "In fact, I heard a rumour he's not male or female, but both!"

Mercutio roared with laughter "Ha! We ought to ask him if it's true! I bet we can get him to do the screechy thing he does when he's angry"

"How DARE you!" imitated Hermia.

Rose looked disgusted at Hermia, and then back at Benvolio.

"Stop it, all of you" insisted Benvolio "Rose, go and say hello to him if you want too. But don't stay too long, because there's Tybalt and Rosaline up in the stands. They're all friends now after Gabriel paid Tybalt to beat up the football captain guy David and I don't want to get into trouble with Tybalt. Look at Mercutio's black eye!"

"Whatever, Bennykins! Me and Hermy-wa want to do some lifts now. So looks like you'll have to skate unassisted. Cha cha!"

Mercutio and Hermia glided away in circles. They started getting closer to Gabriel just to wind up Benvolio, before starting to do the lifts. Hermia pulled a face at Tybalt and stuck her middle fingers up whilst in the air at him.

Benvolio turned to Rose "Shall we skate for a bit?"

Neither of them were any good, and just spent the time clinging to the side. When this song, one that Benvolio didn't like very much, something called 'I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend To Dance' played, Gabriel skated past.

"Why, hello Rose! Fancy seeing you here"

"Gabriel!" exclaimed Rose happily "Fancy seeing you too! What are you up too?"

"I'm out with my friends and my sisters, only Rosaline didn't want to skate so she's sitting with Tybalt. I've just been twirling Juno and Livia around. Have you met Juno, Rose? I should introduce you too him sometime. He's my best friend"

"I haven't met him yet. Maybe you should. Your friends sound really cool"

"Unfortunately, Lavinia's not here today" said Gabriel "So I can't introduce you to her"

"Rose, I'm hungry. Do you want to go and get some food in a minute?" interrupted Benvolio, hoping to get rid of Gabriel.

"You go. I want to talk to Gabriel for a bit and go and meet Juno" said Rose.

"I thought Juno was the name of a pregnant girl" Benvolio added.

"Shut up" snapped Gabriel "I thought Benvolio was the name of an apathetic loser who wets the bed?"

"What did you just say?" gasped Benvolio.

"Bye" sang Gabriel, skating off with Rose following. Benvolio stood like a gormless idiot with his mouth hanging open for a bit, before hurrying away to the men's loos. Hermia and Mercutio had disappeared, so he just locked himself in a cubicle. He sat with his head leant on the wall, reading all the rude rhymes. Once he recognised, as Mercutio had written it when they were ten. Before Romeo had started with this 'in love' nonsense and girls were never a major problem.

He didn't know how long he sat there for. But it was a while before he heard Mercutio come in and start calling for him.

"Benny? You in here? I have something awesome to show you!"

Then he heard a female voice.

"Yeah! Ben-Ben, come see it!"

Benvolio opened the door.

"There you are!" exclaimed Mercutio "Guess what, guess what?"

"What?" sighed Benvolio, washing his hands.

"We caught them! Tybalt and Rosaline! We filmed it, and we're showing it to Romeo!" Mercutio screamed with excitement.

"Ha ha! She'll never shove me down the stairs again!" cackled Hermia.

"What is it with you?" snapped Benvolio. Mercutio and Hermia both blinked "I mean, Romeo's always obsessed with girls, and you are both just obsessed with messing around with Tybalt. Suppose I don't want to listen to Romeo talk about girls or have to mess around with Tybalt? Suppose I actually want to spend some meaningful time with people who are meant to be my friends when I need them? I'm going home"

He threw a paper towel in the trashcan and stormed out. Gabriel and Rose had left. It was like a knife to the heart to know that she'd left without him, and with another boy. Benvolio had thought they'd been really close as a couple. They'd started off as friends, and it was just their emotional intimacy that he could never get enough of. He'd never really been able to talk to his dad as much as he had with her, especially on the subject of his late mother. And now, all that, was it gone?

"Benny! Benny boy!" called Mercutio.

"You're so insensitive!" Benvolio cried back. In that moment, he couldn't stand Mercutio. It was Mercutio who freaked his girlfriend out and then did stupid things when Benvolio was upset. And Romeo was so self-centred and uncaring. If Benvolio's head dropped off, but Romeo had been scratched by a cat, well, guess who'd get all the attention. Romeo, of course. He kept running, and would his bad luck have it, he bumped into Tybalt Capulet.

"Yo, Tin Grin, how's it hanging!" yelled Tybalt after him as he sped up. Benvolio gasped. How had Tybalt heard that nickname? It was true Gabriel had been shouting it at him a few times, but...

"Hey, Tin Grin, I asked you a question! It's polite to answer you know!" Tybalt continued to yell. Tybalt's gang jeered along with him, and Benvolio heard Rosaline cackle.

"Well, I should expect he's more used to hearing his new name!" sang Gabriel, prancing out from the middle of the crowd.

"Oh yeah, what was it again, Gabriel, bruv?"

"Hmm...I think it was Wet-Bed-Volio!" Gabriel shouted. Tybalt's group spluttered with laughter, none as loud as Tybalt himself.

"Bye, bye Wet-Bed-Volio!" Tybalt jeered "Go wash your sheets like a good little boy!"

Benvolio flushed red. Some other people who he didn't know were giggling at him. Humiliation trickled down his body like someone had just soaked him with water. He tried to move away from the encounter, but they just shouted louder. He couldn't escape the stigma of their laughter. Gabriel was screaming abuse like nobodies business, and Tybalt was laughing. Laughing and laughing like no tomorrow.


	40. Someone Is Busted

Dawnstar94 - Sometimes I wonder why a bad teacher even trained as a teacher at all! As for Tybalt, he is a massive prick sometimes.

Zelda12343 - Well, you know what happens in Child Swap...he's got Hermy in his future, and then in ALYN she kicks Gabriel's ass. And then in the upcoming sequel, The Students Of Venice, Gabriel gets fired and ends up homeless and having to rely on Benvolio and Mercutio's kindness. Not that they hide all his clothes or anything.

Poor Benvolio. His girlfriend is falling for Gabriel big time, and Gabriel is shoving it in his face and calling him nasty names. Wonder how Romeo's going to take it when Mercutio shows him the film!

And my aunty's dog, Eddie, makes a cameo as Romeo's new puppy! I love that dog, he is my favourite cousin.

* * *

><p>Finally, for the people in Rosaline's year, it was the end of term. On the 13th of May, they broke up from school to go on Study Leave in preparation for their exams. Besides revising, Rosaline had been shopping for Tibby's present, and an outfit to wear. He'd given her his credit card and told her not to look at the price tag.<p>

Meanwhile, Mercutio had ripped the film on his phone onto to his computer and downloaded it onto a DVD. Romeo was still whining and getting on his nerves. Benvolio was still suffering in silence. But for once, Mercutio didn't care about either of them. It was going to be wake up Romeo, and bye bye Queen Bee Rosaline.

The 15th of May found Mercutio cycling along down to Romeo's house, with Hermia wearing a cunning disguise. Benvolio was already there. Rose apparently couldn't make it.

Paulina answered the door.

"Hello, Mercutio! Lovely to see you again"

"Hi, Paulina!" replied Mercutio. He'd known her for years, so he called her by her first name "This is my friend, Boris. He's just moved here all the way from Russia"

"Welcome, Boris!"

Hermia pulled her hat down lower. In her best Russian accent she replied "Hello"

"Romeo's in the living room with Benvolio. I can't believe he's fifteen! Where does the time go...?"

Hermia followed Mercutio into the front room, looking around in marvel at the Montague Ranch.

"Happy birthday to Woo woo!" shrieked Mercutio, banging open the door. A small dog barked "Oooh, who's this?"

"This is Eddie. He's my new puppy" said Romeo happily.

"Aww, he's so cute! What breed is he?"

"A miniature schnauzer"

"Hello, Eddie!" greeted Mercutio, stroking the dog. Benvolio cowered on top of an armchair "What are you doing up there, Benvolio?"

"I hate dogs" muttered Benvolio.

"I want a dog, but Step-toe is allergic" said Hermia, taking off her hat "God, it's hot under there!"

"Hermia!" yelped Benvolio.

"Shut up, fool! Your uncle and aunt will hear! This is Boris, everyone. He just moved here from Russia" said Mercutio loudly "So say, hi Boris!"

"Hi, Boris" said Romeo.

"Hello, Boris" said Benvolio. Hermia shoved her hat back on.

"So what are you doing here, Hermia?" asked Romeo "You know you shouldn't be in here! You're a Capulet"

"And? Besides, it's Tybalt's birthday today and he's seventeen, and he banned me from coming near him today. And good, because Aunty Regina is cooking 'Sausage Surprise!' and it's fucking disgusting"

"It's Tybalt's what?" choked Romeo.

"Birthday. You share the same birthday" said Hermia with a shrug "I'd rather be with my sexy Montague boys than a stupid old cousin I don't even like"

Romeo and Benvolio looked horrified.

"And I thought sharing a birthday with Beatrix was bad" remarked Benvolio.

"So, Romeo. Do you want your present?" asked Mercutio, an evil glint in his eye. In a way, he felt a little bad. In the past few moments, without any Rosalines or Roses around, it had been the way it was before, and it had been kind of nice.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Romeo "What is it?"

"Aha" said Mercutio, handing it over. Romeo unwrapped it.

"Oh, it's a DVD!"

"Let's watch it!"

"Mercutio..." trailed off Benvolio.

"Yay, let's watch it!" Hermia shouted over him. Mercutio took it, popped it in the DVD player, and switched it on. Tybalt and Rosaline blasted onto the screen.

"It is Rosaline! My love!" cried Romeo.

On the screen, Rosaline moved towards Tybalt and crushed her lips against him. Mercutio turned around to look at Romeo's face. It was a mixture of horror and despair, hurt and betrayal. He giggled a little, as Tybalt slammed Rosaline against the wall and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"She...you..." spluttered Romeo.

"Ha!" yelled Mercutio "Now do you believe me? She doesn't love you, she never will, she never did. And it's not because she's an innocent little virgin who wants to stay pure for marriage. She's lying. She's slept with him too. Give it to him, Hermia!"

Hermia ripped out the pills and thrust them under Romeo's nose. Romeo gazed at them horrified. It was her name on them. It was her prescription all right.

"No..." whispered Romeo.

"Oh, yes!" declared Hermia "See. See what a hoe she really is! She pushed me down the stairs, she lied to people about Tybalt, she lied about everything just to get to the top. She is a deceitful slut, a goldigger, a bitch, and you are never going to obsess over her again!"

"Mercutio! Hermia!" gasped Benvolio.

"Mwah ha ha!" cackled Mercutio.

The door blasted open, and Paulina rushed in "What's going on?"

"Rosaline's dating Tybalt Capulet!" wailed Romeo, throwing the pills at the wall and falling into his mother's arms to cry.

"Let's scarper" said Mercutio.

"Cha cha!" waved Hermia, grabbing the pills. Her hat fell off "Crap!"

Claudio was next to walk through the door "Hey! There's a Capulet in here!"

"Hope you like your DVD!" sang Hermia, running out the room, pocketing Rosaline's pills.


	41. Thief Of Hearts

iluvshinjimina - Hope I made it clear in my email.

Dawnstar94 - I don't think of any of them being evil, it's just at this point of their lives, hormones are raging, the feud is raging. I'm still working on the sequel, there's a lot of stuff about it that I'm unhappy with at the moment.

So, the cat is out the bag, Romeo knows about Tybalt being with Rosaline. That saying is also kind of ironic since Tybalt is the Prince of Cats! But for now, has Gabriel's plan worked?

* * *

><p>Rose was, at that moment, away from all the drama. Gabriel had invited her around, and given her a tour around his house. Angelo was out, so they were completely alone. Currently, he was playing the piano for her and it was beautiful. Occasionally he'd sing along.<p>

"That's beautiful" she gushed when it had finished "What's it called? And who wrote it?"

"I did" replied Gabriel "But it's not finished yet, hence the gaps in the lyrics. So far, I've called it 'I'm A Better Lover'"

"It's wonderful. You're so lucky to be surrounded by all this music, and art. And you dance so well"

He smiled bashfully at her "You know, I think you're the first person who has ever complimented me on my interests"

Rose gazed at him fondly. He was such a sweet, beautiful person with such a fascinating bundle of knowledge about entertainment and culture, when you stripped away the bitter exterior.

"I don't understand why your father disapproves. You're obviously very talented. And it makes you so happy! You look so different when you play or when you're dancing. You act different too. Calmer, nicer. Do you understand?"

He laughed softly "I feel the same. I feel like I am a better person when I do so. I just wish I could bring that into my life"

"You will" assured Rose "It will get better. You can't live with Angelo forever. You'll get out of here, and you can go to La Scala and do what you want"

"I wish time would speed up until then" sighed Gabriel, leaning against the piano. All of a sudden, he was spilling out all of his worries about Angelo wanting to create a relationship with the other two daughters he'd abandoned, and how he hated Angelo spent more time working than with him, and how he had always felt so unloved and unwanted by virtually everyone, how he felt he had no control over his life, and all of his worries, to this girl. He didn't feel any shame at letting her see him in this state. She held him, and comforted him, and it felt rather nice. And at the end, he knew what it meant.

This girl belonged with him.

Not some nerdy, dorky, ugly Montague with bad dress sense and his teeth all wired up who hung around with a lovesick loser of a cousin and Verona's finest freak. Him!

Tybalt's malicious view of him stealing her simply for the thrill of being mean went out the window. Gabriel was in love, and he knew it. Tybalt didn't understand anything about love, but Gabriel did.

"I have to tell you, Rose" he breathed gently, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Yes?" she murmured back.

"I have fallen in love with you" he confessed, looking at her straight in the eye.

There was a silence.

"Me?"

"Yes"

Gabriel leant over and pressed his lips against hers. She tasted sweet, and she smelt nice too. It was a kind of flowery smell. Like her name.

He leant back, and waited for her response.

"Oh, Gabriel..." she sighed softly.

He waited.

"I love you too" she replied.

Gabriel smiled. His heart fluttered. Oh god, his heart was fluttering! It was a wonderful, marvellous sensation.

It was only then she uttered those words he didn't want to hear.

"But what will I tell Benvolio?"

"I could tell him, if you like" proposed Gabriel.

"No, it wouldn't be fair"

"But it would be easier for you. And I don't get upset by things like that"

"But he will! He'll be devastated, I mean, he told me all secrets, stuff he hasn't even told Mercutio and Romeo. We were so close"

Rose got up, and went to go and stand by the window. She leant her hands on the frame, looking out at the garden. Gabriel cuddled her from behind and nuzzled her ear.

"Just let me do it. It'll be easier and quicker. I'll tell him you've left him for me, end of. I'll say if he has anything to say to you, say it now and I'll tell you. Then I'll leave him alone. Or, I could just get Juno to tell him if you're worried I might be a little overly dramatic"

"It's not that. It's just, it's his cousin Romeo's birthday today, and he's off having fun with his family whilst we're petting each other. And it's my duty to end the relationship as I'm the one in it"

"Text him then"

"Gabriel!"

"Or maybe we could just leave it for now" said Gabriel, letting go of her "Perhaps I could fix us a drink, and then we could go up on the roof"

"You can get on the roof?"

"Yeah. I usually go up there. One time, Juno and I saw this news article about this boy who had painted a penis on his parents' roof and it was seen from space and on Google Earth. We were going to do it to wind up Angelo, but then we realized it was something Mercutio would do and so we didn't"

"Oh, God, that boy freaks me out. I'm terrified of him. I don't understand him at all. He's weird"

"Yep" said Gabriel, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of Angelo's liquor from the top of the cupboard. He led her through the house, up three flights of stairs, and then they were on the top of the roof.

"I can see the whole of Verona!" cried Rose.

"It's great. Look, there's where our land ends and where the Capulets start. When we were on my horse earlier I rode up to the boundaries and showed you. And over there is the Lancely's house. Helena is best friends with Hermia so I don't like her because Hermia stole my sister's boyfriend on her birthday. I mean, who does that? And she did it deliberately, she didn't love him at all. Over there is the Montague Ranch, right on the other end of town. You can even see the old defence walls of Verona, and the motorway to Mantua and Padua and the rest. Isn't it splendid?"

"It's amazing. Look, there's school!"

Gabriel unscrewed the liquor "Here's to us"

He took a sip, and then handed it to her and she took a sip.

"Oooh, it's sweet. Very sweet!"

"Just like you" said Gabriel.

"And you"

They sat down away from the edge, and then lay on their backs, staring at the clouds. Gabriel's heart beat was audible, and he thought to himself, he really did love this girl.


	42. Gabriel And The Capulets

Dawnstar94 - Yee-ouch! That sucks. I'm glad I could cheer you up, even if the story is starting to get sadder.

Oh no, Rose has fallen for Gabriel. Poor little Benvolio's going to be upset. Also, someday, I am going to be rewriting and replacing chapter 3, as well as several chapters with Gabriel and Angelo. For what happens next, I need Angelo to have come across as a more sympathetic character. So, just as a heads up, there are going to be a few changes :)

* * *

><p>"This is your room?" asked Rose, looking around at the large bedroom.<p>

"Yes"

"It's so cool"

"Thanks" said Gabriel, sitting down on his king-sized bed. She sat down next to him.

"Where's your wardrobe?"

"Over here"

Gabriel got up, and walked over to a panelled wall. He slid it back effortlessly, to reveal rows and rows of clothes. Rose gasped. He had more than she did! He was so lucky. There was a flat screen television attached to the wall opposite his bed, a sleek modern computer resting on a stylish desk, and a laptop charging beside it. He had the latest iPod touch resting in a docking station, a Blackberry on his bedside table, straighteners and numerous beauty products sitting on a chest of draws, and if Rose peeped through another door, she could spy an en suite bathroom.

There were personal touches, too. On the bedside table, next to the phone, was a small trinket box. Rose opened it curiously, and a small ballerina twirled around. Gabriel smiled at her.

"Make yourself at home. I have to get ready for Tybalt's birthday dinner. What shall I wear?"

He disappeared inside the walk-in wardrobe, but Rose could still see the outline of his body through the panels and in a mirror. He switched on a light, so she could see him even clearer.

"I think I'll go with the lacy shirt and the black vest underneath it, with those smart silk trousers. I made them both myself. What do you think, Rose? And I could wear my pretty 1940's shoes with them"

She saw him pulling clothes from the rack.

"Do you often make your own clothes?"

"Yes. That way I know it's unique, and truly mine, and no one can copy it. It'll only ever fit me because it's tailored to exactly my size"

"What if you put on weight?"

"I don't put on weight" Gabriel replied curtly. Rose watched through the panel as he moved back into view. The shadow of his body was clear through the panel. He was carrying his clothes, which he promptly hung up. She watched his body flex, as he pulled his shirt over his head to reveal a slender, elegant figure, with little to no fat. She thought he'd realise and move out of the light, but he didn't. Her head beat faster, as she imagined the smirk that would be playing on those pouty curved lips.

Eventually, he emerged from behind the translucent screen.

"Could you do me a favour? Could you zip me up?"

"Sure" replied Rose. Gabriel turned, and held his hair out of the way. Rose held the zip with fumbling fingers. He was so captivating, so unique, she'd never met a boy like him. He was so _brave_, defying his dad and the boys in his class and fighting to do what he loved. When Gabriel was dressed, he gathered everything up in a clutch bag, and they headed towards the door. As they turned to go their separate ways, Gabriel reached out and rested his hand against her cheek. The gesture, so simple but so romantic, made Rose blush.

"Next time I see you, I want you to be a single woman" instructed Gabriel. Butterflies danced in her stomach and she nodded complacently.

"Anything for you, Gabriel"

Gabriel headed over to the Capulet Manor where they had gathered to celebrate Tybalt's birthday. They were spending family time together, and then Tybalt was going off to celebrate with his mates. Gabriel knew his birthday present to Tybalt would be the best by far.

He knocked on the door, was let in by a servant, and shown through to the dining room, to see Rosaline snuggled against Tybalt's side, with the Capulets gathered around. Hermia had a triumphant smirk on her face and was swinging on her chair legs, whilst Juliet frowned at Tybalt and Rosaline. Regina watched on proudly and was babbling on about how grown-up Tybalt was.

"Happy birthday!" greeted Gabriel, bending down beside Tybalt "I didn't have time to buy you a present, but that doesn't meant I haven't brought one with me"

"What do you mean?" asked Tybalt, confusion written all over his face.

Gabriel smirked, enjoying his dramatic moment.

"I just ruined Benvolio Montague's life"

"What?"

"You heard me. I've just ruined Benvolio's life. I just stole his girlfriend! She's breaking up with him this evening. If we finish dinner in time I might even go and watch!"

Tybalt spluttered and choked with laughter. He high-fived Gabriel, and the rest of his family cheered. The smirk on Hermia's face was wiped off, and she looked at Gabriel disgustedly.

"That's disgusting" she snapped.

"He's disgusting" said Gabriel, his eyebrows raised "He doesn't look like he's a Montague. You'd expect him to be wearing Abercrombie and Fitch, but he looks like he hasn't got a pot to piss in"

"Gabriel! We're about to eat" Rosaline hissed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Wasn't that posh enough? I'll try again" Gabriel cleared his throat "Benvolio does not look like how one might expect a Montague to look. He may be incredibly unattractive as one might expect, however one would also expect a Montague to wear designer or upmarket clothing in spite of their ugliness, since they are supposed to be an established wealthy upper class family, but Benvolio looks like he does not possess a pot, in which he can piss"

The Capulets chortled with laughter.

"I want that on a shirt" said Tybalt.

"I'll make you one as a late birthday present. I make all my own clothes" said Gabriel.

"What have you got against him?" demanded Hermia "He hasn't done anything to you. It's Romeo and Mercutio who do all the 'annoying of people' but Benvolio has never done anything to provoke such...such meanness!"

"Well, when you want to get at people" said Gabriel in a soft and patronizing voice "You go for the weak spot. And that's Bambi"

"Bambi?" asked Tybalt.

"Yes, it's one of my more politer names for him" explained Gabriel.

"You little sh..." Hermia cursed, standing up and slamming her palms down on the table.

"Hermia, sit down!" snapped Lord Capulet.

"Dad, this is unacceptable"

"I don't care!" snarled Lord Capulet "Sit down. I won't have you fighting and swearing at my dinner table. This is Tybalt's birthday, we're here for him, not so you can behave badly in front of our guests. Sit down"

"No!" snapped Hermia "That's not fair, he-"

"He's a Montague, he deserves it" hissed Lord Capulet "Now sit down"

"Why should I?"

Lord Capulet opened his mouth to scold her further, but Regina bustled out from the kitchen carrying a steaming platter.

"Sausage Surprise!" exclaimed Regina excitedly, dumping it on the table.

"It looks great, Aunty Regina! Doesn't it, everybody?" asked Juliet.

"Yay, my favourite" said Tybalt.

Hermia still hadn't sat down. She shook her ginger head angrily, before snapping "Yeah, what exactly is the surprise again, Aunty Regina, we have it about five times a week. You should've called it Sausage Predictable"

She stormed out the room, banging into Gabriel deliberately. Regina turned to him.

"You must be Gabriel. Well, aren't you a pretty boy! Rosaline has told me you're vegetarian, so I have made you a lovely cauliflower cheese. Although...I didn't know if you ate cheese as well, so it's...just cauliflower. Is that all right with you?"

"Fine" mumbled Gabriel. He'd heard of Regina's awful cooking.


	43. Genuine Heartbreak

Dawnstar94 - Thank you! You're right, boys at school are never worth it. They are always just g.r.o.s.s

I feel bad for having to write this. I like Benvolio and don't like writing him sad. It's just this was the backstory I gave him in Child Swap and ALYN and I have to write it!

* * *

><p>To say Romeo had been devastated would have been an understatement. He had bawled and bawled his eyes out, and then ran up to his room, slammed the door, locked the door, and continued crying. After his parents had given up, Benvolio's dad simply rolled his eyes and told Benvolio to talk some sense into his cousin.<p>

Benvolio had talked soothingly through the keyhole. He hated Mercutio for a few moments then and there. He was so insensitive sometimes. He was careless, callous, and it was always Benvolio dealing with Romeo when Mercutio had made some crass remark or done something ruthless. Benvolio hated being torn between the two if they ever fell out, which was usually quite rare, but still, things had been right between the three for a while now...

In the end, Benvolio had left Romeo, reasoning he needed to calm down before he could be spoken too. Horrible, depressing, emo music came pounding out the speakers anyway, and there was little he could have done when Romeo was in that mood.

His dad and his annoying twin sister Beatrix had already left. His uncle and aunt were clearing up the food, complaining about Romeo's moods. Benvolio's other aunt, Isabella, was helping them. He apologized for not being able to coax Romeo out of his room, and left.

Suddenly, he felt his phone buzz. Benvolio had quite an old phone, with a really irritating need to ring and vibrate at the same time. He pulled it out and read a text.

'_I need to talk to you. Meet me at the park, I'll be sitting on a bench by the entrance. Rose x'_

He wondered what she needed, and tapped back a reply quickly. He pushed aside his worries about Mercutio and Romeo, and his thoughts turned to her. Maybe he could help her out instead.

It was a relief to see her thick curvy figure and wavy dark brown hair. Benvolio smiled at her. She smiled back weakly, before delivering that fatal line.

"We need to talk"

Benvolio's stomach plummeted.

"What is it? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, it's nothing to worry about, I mean..."

Her purple eyes were filled with sorrow. Benvolio usually liked to gaze into those special purple pools.

"What is it?" he asked, sitting down, turning to look at her. Her heart-shaped lips quivered.

"I just want to say first...you've been a really sweet caring boyfriend and I have been very lucky"

"What's going on?"

Benvolio's heart sped up. He felt the pounds against his chest, and a tight twisted difficult knot forming between his stomach and lungs.

"I...I've met someone, and I want to be with him now"

Benvolio's eyes blurred, and he knew that if he wasn't careful, the hot liquid would pour down his cheeks. _'Be cool,'_ he told himself, _'don't do a Romeo meltdown...'_

"Who is it?" Benvolio managed to choke out, although he knew who it was. Of course he knew who it was. There was only one person it could be. A certain bitchy blond ballet dancer, who spoke in a hideously and unnaturally high girly tenor...

"Gabriel...I love him. He's so...different, and so brave. I've never met anyone like him, he's beautiful. He cares so deeply about animals, and I agree...he's passionate about the things he cares about...like vegetarianism, dancing, and how men should be allowed to like girly things in this day and age. And he's simply one of the sweetest boys I've ever met...he doesn't leave the toilet seat up or talk about football and jerking off all the time..."

"I don't talk about football and jerking off!" cried Benvolio. It was a stupid thing to protest about as he was being dumped, but it was the first thing that sprung into his mind.

"But those friends of yours do" replied Rose. She looked just as upset as Benvolio, but went on "I get on with his friends really well, I love him, I honestly do. I'm really sorry, Benvolio. I hope we can still be friends"

"I...I..."

"Perhaps you need some time to think it over?" Rose proposed. Benvolio just looked at her, and then he heard some high-pitched snickering behind him. He turned around, to see the boy himself, lounging against a nearby tree.

"Hello and goodbye. Time to run along home" sang Gabriel. He gloated, smug self-satisfaction written all over that feminine face.

Benvolio jumped up, took one last look at her, turned on his heel, and fled. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he ran. He must have looked a pathetic sight to the passersby. When he got home, he slammed the door, and started the long route to his bedroom.

"Benvolio! There you are. Did you coax Romeo out at all?" asked Anthony, moving into view. He caught sight of his son's tears "Hey, what's the matter?"

"Go away!" sobbed Benvolio, storming past him, and running into his room. He slammed shut the door, shoved his armchair against it so he wouldn't be interrupted, then threw off his shoes, slamming them against the floor one by one. He ripped off his glasses, and so the world turned into a blurred hazy mess. Then he turned, suddenly tender, and fell on his bed.

He cried for a while. How could Rose do this to him? His whole body and mind swirled with hurt. He thought she loved him. He'd told her secrets, stuff he hadn't even told Mercutio and Romeo, how he'd felt after the death of his mother. She'd been the first person who'd actually listened in the same way Benvolio liked to think he did to others. And she'd left him for Gabriel Fulgencio, of all people! The boy was a cheap lousy slut, related to a cruel social climbing manipulative tart, who was dating evil bullying Tybalt...

Now he knew how Romeo felt. Sure, his hurt was genuine rather than irritating attention-seeking, but he felt everything Romeo had described. Maybe he and his cousin were a lot more alike than they'd thought.

Tears bled down Benvolio's face, and he just let them dry. Anthony and Beatrix just left him alone. His dad was rubbish at comforting people anyway, and so he probably didn't want to bother with any empty meaningless attempts to coax it out of him. They weren't close, and Benvolio didn't even want to talk to him. He wanted to talk to someone who would listen.

But Rose wasn't there anymore.

As the room grew dark, he only had enough energy to get and close the curtains, before crawling under the duvet, and crying some more.


	44. Chaos At School

Dawnstar94 - I had to remind myself about Hermia being in his future because I felt bad writing it.

Oreoskidz - She's a silly girl. I'd pick Benny over all the boys in a heartbeat.

Poor ol' Benvolio. He's been dumped for girly Gabriel. I doubt Rose will want to be with him when he starts wearing skirts in public with her. Back to Tybalt and Rosaline. I had to study 'Of Mice And Men' last year in English too. I would've liked it a hell of a lot more if I hadn't had to analyse the poor thing to a pulp.

* * *

><p>"Last weekend was awesome!" jeered Sam, as Rosaline walked with Tybalt into school to sit her first exam.<p>

"Not now, Sam, bruv, I'm helping my girl revise" replied Tybalt "What does the title 'Of Mice And Men' represent?"

"You already asked me that. It comes from the poem that goes like, 'The best laid schemes of mice and men, often go wrong'" answered Rosaline.

"Just checking you know it" Tybalt kissed her on her cheek.

"Enough, we're at school now" said Rosaline.

"All right. Come and find me after the exam, I'll take you out to lunch and you can tell me how it went. I have a couple of frees, so we should have enough time. You're going to ace it. English is well easy"

"You got a C" added Greg.

Tybalt flushed "Pass is a pass, isn't it? And that was with no revision, whatsoever"

"If you had revised, you could have easily got an A" scoffed Rosaline. They passed through the throes of people, only to hear a chorus of sniggers and giggles. At first, she ignored them, but as she walked down the corridors towards her locker, they intensified. Everyone was looking at her, and she didn't know why.

"Tibby, what's going on?" hissed Rosaline.

"I don't know" shrugged Tybalt. He looked at the crowds of students milling around, and tried to listen to what they said.

"...broke her vow..."

"...lied to everyone..."

"...with him! He's gross..."

"...whore..."

Finally, he found Juliet.

"What's going on?" he hissed.

Juliet struggled to keep a straight face "Nothing, I don't know what you're talking about"

"Why is everyone sniggering and laughing at Ros?"

"I don't know" Juliet replied innocently.

Tybalt's eyes suddenly blazed red "What has Hermia done now?"

"Hermia hasn't done anything" retorted Juliet "Stop being so horrid about her. She's my sister and your cousin, and you blame her for everything"

"No, I don't!" snapped Tybalt "She brings it on herself, pissing me off all the time"

"Whatever, Tybalt" Juliet rolled her eyes, but then she caught sight of Paris Vincentino "Quick, hide me!"

"What?"

But Tybalt had no time to object before Juliet had run behind him. He turned around to face her "What's the matter? Has he done something to you? Something I should beat him up for?"

"No, no! He fancies me, and he's a creep. That's it. I'm just ignoring him. Mum says I should be nice to him, since he's Escalus' nephew, but I can't stand him"

"Let me take care of him" Tybalt patted his cousin on the shoulder "Oi!"

Paris startled "What is it, Tybalt?" he gulped.

"I hear you've been bothering my cousin" growled Tybalt. He scowled, hoping to intimidate the little git a bit, but to his surprise, Paris was...laughing?

"What's funny?" snarled Tybalt "What are you laughing at, you creep? Maybe you're a lot more like that goofy idiot of a cousin of yours than I thought"

"I'm sorry" Paris sniggered "It's just hard to take someone seriously when his girlfriend..."

"His girlfriend did what!" Tybalt all but roared. All thoughts of Juliet were pushed aside as his mind turned to Rosaline.

"Haven't you heard?" asked Paris.

Tybalt frowned in confusion "No"

"Everyone knows about you and Rosaline" Paris went on "Hermia stole Rosaline's birth control pills, and her and Mercutio filmed you making out, and showed it to Romeo Montague. He had an emo breakdown, and he's told everyone that Rosaline has broken her vow! Which, I assume you're responsible for, since, um, you were the ones making out"

His eyes flickered away from Tybalt's for a moment. Tybalt felt anger coursing through his veins, he felt that familiar angry bubbling in his heart. This always happened before he exploded with anger.

"Tibby!" cried Rosaline, weaving through the throes of students "They know! They know!"

The angry fire cooled, just enough for him to pull Rosaline through the crowds to beside him. He felt her shake. This was bad. Her exam was in less than ten minutes, and people were laughing, gossiping. Those bastard Montagues...he'd thought Gabriel taking Benvolio out of the picture would shut them up for a few weeks but evidently not. He tried to embrace her, but she pushed him away.

"You bragged"

"What?" asked Tybalt, confused.

"You bragged, didn't you? You told everyone you'd slept with me, you bragged to all your mates and anyone in earshot that you'd 'nailed the virgin' I thought you were a gentleman, but it turns out you're a pig!"

"I did not brag!" protested Tybalt "I'd never brag"

"You did about those other chicks" added Petruchio. Tybalt flushed red.

"They were just whores. Rosaline, you're different. I love you! I love you with all my heart, more than anyone here could ever imagine. Hear me out!"

"Liar!" Rosaline's ice blue eyes flashed with anger, but Tybalt also knew she was trying not to cry "You must have been laughing about me behind my back the whole time. I thought what we had meant something. If I'd known you just wanted me for a shag then I would have never slept with you! The least you can do is leave me alone and let me get on with my exam"

"I didn't!" cried Tybalt "I did not. Hear me out. I care about you!"

"This is awesome!" giggled Juno, pulling out his phone to film. Gabriel grabbed it.

"Don't even think about it, Juno. You aren't spreading any rumours or gossip about my sister. If anyone spreads rumours or gossip around here, it will be because I say so!" he snarled. Juno looked taken aback.

"I'm sorry, Gabriel. Please may I have my phone back?"

Gabriel passed it back "Keep it"

"Don't touch me, you pig!" screamed Rosaline, turning on her heel and running down to the hall to line up for the exam. Tybalt tried to follow, but the throes of students got in his way. He felt the anger, boiling under his skin. He wanted to hit something, to break something, to destroy. He balled his fist, turned and swung a punch at the wall. A visible dent was left, and Tybalt felt his knuckles sting and watched blood stream down his wrist. It felt good. He did it again, and then turned to yell at the crowds.

"Having fun? Yeah? Watching the show? I'll give you a better fucking show if you want! You think this is funny? How funny is this?" Tybalt kicked over a stack of lockers, and they tumbled to the ground like dominoes. The smash echoed around the school. Students ran urgently out the way.

"Tybalt, no, stop it!" cried Juliet, pulling at his arm uselessly "No more trouble, please, you promised to calm down!"

She pressed her hands against his chest to try and stop him, but Tybalt shoved her off.

"Shut up, you fucking brat! I never promised anything. This is me! I hate the world, I hate Verona, I hate my life, and I hate the fucking Montagues! Don't touch me, you shitty little brat. I want to hit things, 'cause that's me!" roared Tybalt. Several teachers were running down the corridor towards him, to try and restrain their worst student.

"Fuck off!" bellowed Tybalt "Fuck off!"

"If you don't calm down, Tybalt, then we'll have no choice but to expel you!" scolded the head teacher.

"Go on then!" snarled Tybalt "Expel me! You've wanted to for years. Make my fucking day!"

He turned on his heel, and stormed out of the school. Juliet followed, shouting at him to calm down, so Tybalt broke into a run. He was faster than her, and she lost track of him after he left the school gates. He slammed himself down on a bench, and wished he was dead.


	45. Benvolio's Bad Day

Dawnstar94 - Your cousin is a minister? Cool! One of my pals wants to be a vicar when she's older. And don't worry about not reviewing and stuff, like said, I always like at least one per chapter so I have something to work with, to use as improvement. Secondly, I have decided to change the order of the ending, and so I needed the weekend to work on it. Originally, this chapter wouldn't be posted for a few more days :)

So, Ros and Tibby aren't feeling the love. And neither is Benvolio.

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><p>Benvolio snivelled into school that morning. His dad had shouted at him for staying in his room all weekend and not helping around the house. Beatrix had screamed at him for spilling milk on her copy of Twilight that morning. He was still hurting, and he knew everyone would be laughing at him. Not to mention that Gabriel would also be gloating at him, and petting his girlfriend, right in front of him. Benvolio felt like crying again.<p>

Romeo crawled into school. His parents had called through the door coaxingly, and offered to make him his favourite breakfast, let him watch his favourite TV show before school, drive him to school and play his favourite CD for him whilst in the car. So he'd pulled on his uniform reluctantly and let his mum drive him to school.

Mercutio and Hermia danced and cavorted their way into school. They knew Rosaline was in huge trouble, and she'd have to do some very slick talking, if she could even think of any, to get out of this one. In one swoop, Hermia had destroyed her archrival's reputation, and Mercutio had put a stop to Romeo's lovesick whining.

Benvolio slumped at his desk, waiting for Romeo to sit down next to him. He heard the sniggers begin. He wasn't especially popular at school, due to his nerdish status and complete and utter uselessness at sport. He'd reconciled himself to that fact as he had Mercutio and Romeo, and they were his true friends. But he wasn't in the mood to deal with Romeo's self-centred whining or Mercutio's stupid, ridiculous feckless behaviour.

Romeo came and sat next to him.

"I can't believe Mercutio would do that to me! I'm never going to speak to him again" was the first thing he said.

Benvolio ignored him.

"He could have at least told me gently"

"He did" snapped Benvolio "We all told you. You just didn't listen. As usual. All you care about is whinging to people and making everything all about you. It's always about you. Well, I'm not listening if you're just going to moan!"

Romeo looked taken aback "What's happen to you?"

Tears spurted out of Benvolio's eyes "Nothing!"

"Something has happened" pressed Romeo "I know you like a book. You look awful, like you haven't slept, in fact, you look like you're...heartbroken?"

It didn't take long for Benvolio to reply, even though he said he wouldn't.

"Rose has dumped me for Gabriel!"

The first thing Romeo did was pull Benvolio into a hug.

"Oh...I'm sorry, Benny. I didn't know. When?"

"After I left yours. I met her in the park and she just dumped me like that. I'd put everything into being with her, I'd treated her as best as I could. And I'd even told her stuff I hadn't even told you or Mercutio! And now she's left me for that evil, bullying, little shit!"

"Jeez, boys, I know you're heartbroken, but put each other down already!" jeered David.

"He's my cousin, you twat!" snapped Benvolio.

"Does Mercutio know?" asked Romeo.

"Of course not. I wouldn't talk to him about this sort of thing" sniffed Benvolio.

Romeo snorted.

"I hate Gabriel" spat Benvolio. His words tumbled out in a passion of fury "I hate him more than Tybalt. I hate him! I don't care how many times Tybalt has beaten me up, that's nothing compared to that evil little shit. He sent me these texts, and he calls me these names-"

"He did what?" asked Romeo, his eyes widening.

"He calls me names. Like Tin Grin, and Metal Mouth, and worse of all, Wet-Bed-Volio"

"Wet-Bed-Volio?" Romeo repeated, horrified.

"Yeah. He got Tybalt to yell it at me a couple of times, so that everybody laughs at me when I walk down the street and stuff. Oh, and somehow he got my number and sends me messages. And he's stolen my girlfriend. I can't believe she'd fall for him"

"That...that was bullying!" cried Romeo.

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed" Benvolio rolled his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me and Mercutio? Or your dad? We'd have-"

"He wouldn't have cared!" snarled Benvolio "He'd just tell me to toughen up. And neither of you would listen. You were too busy moping over Rosaline, and Mercutio was too busy saying how stupid you were. Whilst you two were wrapped up in your squabbles, I had no one-"

"Settle down everyone!" shouted the teacher. Romeo and Benvolio turned to face the front. As they took different subjects, and were in different sets for maths and science, they were separated for most of the day. More sniggers, more giggles, more whispers. At lunch, that gaping hole in Benvolio's heart stretched even wider, remembering how he used to phone Rose and they'd talk about their day, and how they used to listen as their separate groups of friends shouted things down at them and giggle.

The last two lessons were hell. All Benvolio wanted by that point was to go home. Only he had history. And that meant listening to Hermia shouting across the class about how she had defeated Rosaline for once and for all.

"I bet they're yelling at her!" cackled Hermia "I bet she'll never get to be Head Girl, and her and Tybalt go and live in a slum and have fifty kids and claim child support benefits for the rest of their miserable chav lives"

"Ha!" cackled Lysander in reply "I'll make sure she never touches you again"

The end of school could not have come soon enough. Benvolio hurried along to the station with the rest of the students. There was Gabriel, showing off to his entourage. Rose was there, with a sappy kind of smile on her face, gazing adoringly at him. It made Benvolio feel sick. He felt bile rising in his throat. Gabriel seemed to have spotted him, and blew him a kiss sneakily. Anger started to bubble under Benvolio's skin. How dare Gabriel steal someone Benvolio had cared about so deeply from him!

No longer would he put up with this shit. No longer would he be walked on. It was high time Benvolio did something.


	46. Heart To Heart

Dawnstar94 - I'm looking forward to posting that chapter, actually!

I feel bad for Benvolio, going through that and then having Gabriel smother it in his face. I expect Tybalt's doing worse, though.

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><p>"There you are!" scolded Juliet, finding her cousin slumped on the bench "I've been looking for you. You had me worried"<p>

"Get lost" grumbled Tybalt. His eyes were glassy. Briefly, Juliet wondered if her toughest cousin had been crying, but she soon let that thought go. Tybalt would be furious if she realized. So she ignored him and sat down beside him.

"That was pretty scary when you kicked down the lockers"

"Whatever"

"You haven't blown up like that for ages"

"Shut up"

"I'm only trying to make conversation!"

"Suppose I don't want to talk!" hissed Tybalt "Go back to school. You're a little girl. You don't understand"

"I'm not just some little girl" Juliet snapped back "I'm fourteen"

"Yeah, a little girl!" Tybalt retorted.

"Ok. I'm a little girl. But I'm also your cousin and I love you. So you can talk to me, and I will understand"

"Ok. How well do you understand the statement 'Fuck off'?" Tybalt snapped again.

"And how well do understand that I am not leaving until you talk to me properly?" insisted Juliet. She knew her cousin well. She could stand up to him and debate with him even if he grew angry, because they were close.

"And how well do you understand that if you don't leave I'll throw you off the bench myself?"

"How well do you understand that I'll just get up and sit back on the bench and you'll have to keep getting up to shove me off, have to keep talking, instead of sitting like an emo kid wallowing in his own misery?"

"I'm not an emo!" yelled Tybalt "I'm a chav, damn it!"

They both looked at each other, and snorted. The tension was broken.

"I know you're a chav. You drive a stinky, battered up Vauxhall Nova and you smoke like a chimney"

"And I know you aren't just a little girl, however much your parents think you are"

They hugged, and then Juliet felt Tybalt start to shake.

"Are you all right, Tibby?"

"No, I'm not all right!" Tybalt let go, and crossed his arms.

"You've been crying, haven't you?"

"No!" Tybalt vehemently replied.

"Give over, Tybalt, I know you like a book"

"Fine then!"

For the first time since Tybalt was a child, tears spurted out of his grey eyes, and he howled into his hands. Juliet rubbed his arm, trying to think of ways to comfort him.

"There, there, it's all right, there are much nicer girls out there..."

"I don't want them, I want her! I love her. I can't believe she'd believe the rumours over me! I did not brag. I'd never brag to my mates about what I do with her. It was Hermia and the Montagues who set me up. I respect her. She's different to the girls I've been with before. She doesn't just want to be with me because I have a big dick or I'll beat up her ex, even though I did-"

"Tybalt!"

"What? He had it coming, cheating scoundrel. No one treats my girl like that and gets away with it" growled Tybalt, wiping his eyes fiercely.

Juliet shook her head "No! I meant the bit before! Urgh. Don't ever discuss your...size, in front of me, ever again!" She shook her head again, turning red, before trying to change the subject "You are going to get into trouble one day with all your fighting"

"Whatever. I just...I thought we understood each other. I helped her when Angelo was trying to get into contact with her, and helped her when she was getting to know Gabriel. I understood how she felt, about wanting to do well but not be what other people wanted her to be. I thought she understood me, about how, no matter what I do, however much I defend our family from the Montagues, I won't ever get anything!"

"So stop fighting with them then!"

"I can't!" yelled Tybalt "They harass my mum. Unless you've been living with your head in the sand for fourteen years, my mum has manic depression and can't look after herself. Remember when I had to live with you when she was in hospital? Yeah? Well, it was because those Montagues were prank-calling her and shit. And I thought Rosaline understood that and didn't judge me for it"

"I know, Tybalt, I know. Calm down"

Tybalt sat back, breathing heavily. His face had turned red. Juliet cautiously reached over and touched his arm again.

"Well, look" said Juliet "I don't think you and Rosaline were cut out for each other in the first place. I think sometimes she brings the worst out in you. And I think you bring out the worst in her too. When you're together, it's a 'get Hermia' mission all the way. You should stop calling her a bastard. Whether or not she's legitimate or not, she's family. She's just as much your cousin as I am"

"She isn't Rosaline's cousin, and I'm damn envious of her for it!"

"That is so childish" Juliet rolled her eyes "It was Rosaline who you were hanging out with when you were also hanging out with that dodgy crowd-"

"They're her _neighbours_, for fuck's sake. There's nothing she can change about that. That's how we'd see each other and get to know each other. I like to hang around on the Burry Estate, and she likes to hang around with rich people, which is what we are!"

"Well, what about the drugs thing? You hung around with her then as well!"

"Because she was helping me through it!" Tybalt yelled again "You're so stupid and naive. You are a stupid little girl. Rosaline does not bring out the worst in me. I think she brings out my nicer side. I have a shower before I go out with her. I wear clean clothes and brush my teeth. I have a shave. And I even cut my toenails!"

"Wow" said Juliet, looking over at him to see if it was true.

"She actually got me to do my coursework. I mean, I know she did half of it, but she helped me get a good mark. My teacher was impressed with me"

"Well, that's good then. But look, you could do all that yourself you know. You don't need her telling you what to do all the time. Sometimes, when she talks to you, it's like she thinks you're stupid"

"No, she doesn't! It's just part of the bickering. We always bicker. But...I like it"

"But there's nothing nice about bickering. Trust me, there are nicer girls out there, who wouldn't bicker like that"

"Whatever, Juliet! You don't get it. You think love is all roses and poems and undying devotion, but it isn't. That's your silly pathetic little fourteen year old girl view of it, well, wake up to the real world!"

"Well, what is it, then? Since you're such a loveable person, what is it?"

"Rosaline..." Tybalt trailed off, thinking of his beautiful girlfriend "Rosaline's nice to my mum. Chasnay told me to my face that she was a freak. And Rosaline goes along with the whole 'Sausage Surprise!' nonsense and doesn't judge. Shayna all but threw up on the table. That's love. When I funnelled loads of beer at a party and had the worst hangover I'd ever experienced, she held my head when I hurled and got me an aspirin. Shiraz would have just left me to toss up. She cares about me. She came with me to the dentist when I had to have root canal because she knows I hate the dentist, and then she held my hand and looked after me when I was crying in pain on the sofa. She didn't even judge me or laugh, like Chantelle would have. There! That's love"

Juliet watched her cousin pant angrily. What he had said had had an element of truth. Juliet chewed her lip, wondering whether she was biased to listen to what Hermia had to say on their cousins.

He sniffed "But now she's gone. There's no point anymore. She'll never let me come near her again thanks to this. I'm alone again. Just stupid aggressive Tibby Capulet, the walking joke of the Montagues"


	47. Thoughts

iluvshinjimina - No problem! My favourite expansion pack is probably university too! Glad you still enjoy the story.

Dawnstar94 - I have mentioned some characters from Hamlet, although they won't play big roles. I haven't mentioned anyone from Macbeth.

Sorry for the late update, fanfiction wouldn't let me do it yesterday for some reason.

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><p>Rosaline left school as soon as she could. The exam had finished within two hours, and so she high-tailed it out of there. The exam had gone ok. Rosaline wasn't a big fan of English, but she did well. Most of the poetry they had to study was appalling. Rosaline never liked poetry, anyway. It was silly and pretentious, and always lacked meaning for her. It was better just to say what you wanted to say. It wasn't just the ridiculous, Romeo Montague-eque, lovey dovey drivel that annoyed her, it was Seamus Heaney. Poetry about...potatoes? Really?<p>

She took her time walking away from school. She knew her classmates would be waiting at the train station already and didn't want to bear the brunt of anymore whispers or rumours. Instead she trailed around the shops. She had some money in her purse, but not much. As usual.

If Tybalt was here, he'd pay for everything, and tell her she was worth it.

She wasn't hungry, so she bought a red nail varnish, and sat on a wall, painting her nails. Why had she taken that stupid Chastity Pledge? Why hadn't she just said no? Rosaline couldn't understand what was so bad about sex in the first place. She was above the age of consent, the law allowed it, she'd used protection and she had loved her partner. So what was bad about that? She liked her body, she was confident about herself, and she had always liked the attentions of boys. Rosaline had always been mature for her age, she had been ready. She liked being held by Tibby, she liked the way they fitted like a puzzle. So why had she pledged that away and got into this mess?

She wouldn't be in this mess if he hadn't bragged. This was his fault. Rosaline couldn't believe he'd do this to her. She thought she was different to his other girlfriends, she thought she was special. They both went way back. He'd proposed to her when they were five.

What was she to expect? She lived on the Burry Estate. No woman was ever treated with respect if you lived there. People immediately assumed you were a whore and had five kids. With a snort, Rosaline wondered why that was why she had taken the chastity pledge, as if to say that wasn't the case.

She was not a whore. Rosaline was picky, choosey, she could have slept with any of the boys she'd dated, but she hadn't. She'd waited for that special person. Sure, Tybalt wasn't nice, but she had seen something in him, something...different, and that was what made her want him. He cared about his family. That was just so sweet. Rosaline never usually went for mummy's boys, but it was just such a surprise about someone like him was so loyal and caring, that it simply endeared him to her. Underneath the rough, bad boy exterior that had attracted her, was a loving, caring, loyal partner. Tybalt may have been a manwhore, but Rosaline knew for a certain he had never cheated on any of his girlfriends.

She thought back to all those good times. When he had let her out of the bathroom with the spider in where Hermia had locked her, when he'd bought gummy snakes that Hermia hated that they threw at her in revenge, when they had both sat in the gutter of the Burry Estate, starving hungry because Rosaline had given her food to Livia and Tybalt's mum was having a manic turn and had forgotten she even had a son, when Tybalt's mum was in hospital, and Rosaline had been the only one to offer comfort, when Rosaline was the only one who believed him when the school accused him of selling drugs, when she had helped him get out of trouble for pulling the fire alarm as a prank, whenever she bandaged up his cuts and bruises after a fight even though she hated blood, when Tybalt defended her from mean ex boyfriends, when he'd been there for her after Angelo tried to make contact, when he comforted her after shoving Hermia down the stairs, making love in the back of his car for the first time, all those times, all those times...

Then he just had to brag. Typical. She should have known. Now what was she going to do?

Perhaps she'd have to go back to gold digging. She could reinvent herself. Now Rosaline wouldn't have to worry about staying at the top at school, she could throw herself into the social scene and only care about that. She didn't have to stay at school anymore. Once her exams were over, she could attend a college to get her A Levels at instead. She wouldn't get to be Head Girl, and she wouldn't be as likely to get good results, but they wouldn't care who she was seeing and what she was doing with them.

Besides, it wasn't as if she actually liked school. She liked being popular, being the best, being better than everyone else, not the school especially. She worked hard at maths because she was interested in money. She liked the feel of it in her hands, and revelled in her dream of simply being able to swim in the stuff. If she stayed at school to take A Level maths, she'd have been stuck in a room full of manky nerds who she wouldn't be caught dead talking too. People like creepy Benvolio Montague.

Her phone had gone haywire with texts, so she turned it off. There were none from Tybalt, thank goodness. Briefly, she wondered what he was doing. Probably beating someone up in frustration.

Then she wondered about the Capulets. Would they think any less of her for dumping him? But he was the one who bragged, so what would they think of him? Uncle Egues liked her, and had thought she was a good match for Tybalt. Maybe he'd help sort things out, although Rosaline didn't know what he could do. She didn't know what anyone would do, since she'd never heard of anyone making and then breaking their chastity vow, and having it made public like this.

There was only one way to find out. And that was to walk back into the shark tank. Rosaline sighed, picked up her stuff, and headed up towards the train station, where no doubt, the students from her school would be waiting


	48. Benvolio Goes Wild!

Dawnstar94 - Nightmares! Ugh, that must suck. Once again, so glad my story can help.

We all know Benvolio for being a pacifistic well-wisher, but has Gabriel's evilness finally got to him?

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><p>"Oi!" roared the unmistakable voice of Tybalt Capulet. Mercutio, Romeo and Benvolio turned around to meet him. Tybalt stormed right up to Romeo, so that they stood face to face.<p>

"I hear you've been spreading rumours about my girl" hissed Tybalt.

"She had it coming, lying manipulative bitch!" sang Hermia, waving her arm that had the cast on.

"Shut it, you" Tybalt snarled.

"Why not? People deserved to know the truth after what she did" snivelled Romeo.

"She never loved you. She made that pretty clear. She always loved me" hissed Tybalt.

"Who could love you, you ugly sweaty old thug, who doesn't brush his teeth or wash his hair?" asked Mercutio.

"Shut it!" snarled Tybalt again. He turned back to Romeo "I know you've been stalking her, pretending you were in love with her, hanging around outside her house trying to catch a glimpse of her, ringing her up to ask for dates. How dare you have the cheek to do this, because she loved me, not you!"

"Unlucky, Tibby, unlucky!" Mercutio catcalled.

"Shut up!" Tybalt yelled again.

Gabriel was standing nearby. He looked a little harried. He stepped forwards.

"I left school as soon as I could. I can't find her anywhere. Tybalt, I hope you don't break-" He stopped short at the sight of Benvolio, who'd scuttled away from him earlier on to hide behind his friends. A triumphant smile spread over his features "Oh, hi Tin Grin! I hope singleton life is treating you well so far"

"Shut up, you little shit" snarled Benvolio. Everyone turned and glanced at each other, amazed that he broke away from his usually docile demeanour.

"Oooh, naughty words, coming from Metal Mouth!" Gabriel elegantly stepped around the Montague. Tybalt watched on, impressed "I bet you're glad you aren't as pathetic as Romeo and haven't started writing stupid poems yet. I mean, what was the last one he sent to Rosaline? You are my swan, I hope to never wake up and find you gone"

"You shut your poisonous trap!" hissed Benvolio.

"Poisonous trap? Now, there's a new one!" pouted Gabriel. He ran a hand through his platinum blond locks.

"A new one? How many people have been at the receiving end of your nasty little schemes? You're nothing but a cheap slut!"

"What's he talking about?" whispered Mercutio. Romeo turned, and whispered back.

"After you showed me that video, Rose called Benvolio and dumped him for Gabriel. After he'd been bullying him. And we hadn't noticed"

"Cheap slut?" spluttered Gabriel.

"Yeah! How much is Rose paying you?" yelled Benvolio.

"More than she ever paid you, especially since you couldn't leave the bed dry!"

"I WAS GRIEVING!" roared Benvolio "How would you like it if Angelo died?"

"I'd love it" sang Gabriel "I wouldn't waste time crying and snivelling in a dusty old bookshop, I'd have his money, and I'd go out partying. I wouldn't wet the bed or turn into a socially retarded weirdo who dissects poor innocent frogs for a hobby. I'd be out, having fun, and dancing!"

That did it for Benvolio. He shook with rage, barely able to contain himself, and then he lunged, and Gabriel slammed onto the floor. The boys rolled about. Benvolio was livid, angry, and hurt. Tybalt's eyes nearly popped out of his head. All those times he'd had laughed as he shoved Benvolio's head down a loo and flushed it, he'd never expected to see this.

"I'LL PULL ALL YOUR PRETTY BLOND HAIR OUT BY THE ROOT!" yelled Benvolio "I'LL RIP YOUR TUTU INTO SHREDS, YOU POISONOUS TOXIC BALLERINA! I'LL SNAP YOUR LEGS IN HALF SO YOU'LL NEVER DANCE AGAIN!"

"Get him, Benvolio!" shouted Romeo.

"Yeah!" encouraged Mercutio "Slap him! Ruin his looks for once and for all!"

"No, not my face!" squealed Gabriel, covering his face with his hands "I want to be on the cover of Vogue someday!"

"Don't be stupid, Gabriel!" yelled Tybalt "Just get him! Hit him! It's easy!"

"Stop it!" cried Rose "Stop! You don't need to fight! We can talk this through!"

"NO! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF BEING TAKEN FOR GRANTED AS THE PEACEFUL, NICE ONE! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF BEING WALKED ON!" roared Benvolio, tussling. Gabriel seemed to be gaining strength, and managed to slap Benvolio across the face a few times. Benvolio yelled in pain, and Gabriel tried to scratch at him. But then Benvolio shoved Gabriel down, and they started flailing around on the floor again. Romeo and Mercutio had leapt up on some seats by the station and were yelling encouragement.

"Benvolio's trying to kill Gabriel!" shrieked Rose "He's gone crazy! Benvolio has gone wild!"

Tybalt watched the usually wimpy Montague he loved to pick on finally fight back. Gabriel screamed and cried, trying to duck hits. Tybalt was smart enough to notice that Benvolio had no technique at fighting, and was just angrily waving his arms around, but that was enough to make Gabriel scream and cry at being hit. Every now and then he attempted to scratch and slap, which appeared to be his only form of defence. It was when Gabriel had the upper hand and was screeching insults that Mercutio and Romeo jumped down to defend their best friend. Now Gabriel was hopelessly outnumbered.

Tybalt was still angry at Romeo and the rest of his friends. He wanted to fight them, and he wanted an excuse. Here it was. Tybalt waded in, and started to pull Benvolio off. So, it seemed Gabriel still needed help at winning fights. Romeo slapped Tybalt across the face. As Tybalt was busy with the Montagues, Mercutio went straight for Gabriel.

"NO ONE CALLS BENNYKINS NAMES, APART FROM ME!"

"Get them both, Mercutio!" shouted Hermia, taking her place as the chief supporter "Come on, everybody! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

The gaggle of boys went livid. Tybalt was tackling two boys at once.

"How dare you say stuff about my girl!" he snarled, slamming Romeo against an information post. Romeo bounced, and then fell down "Lying Montague bastard! I love her, not you, you twat!"

Gabriel and Benvolio still struggled. Romeo clamoured up and out of Tybalt's grasp. Instead he grasped hold of Gabriel. Mercutio pushed Benvolio away, and punched Gabriel straight on the nose. They high-fived. Gabriel screamed, collapsing to the ground.

"My nose! My nose! He's broken my nose!"

"Stop it!" commanded a train guard "Or I'm calling the police!"

But the boys struggled on. It seemed this fight had been bubbling under the surface for some time now, and they were finally letting it rip. Gabriel shrieked, clutching his nose. Tears streamed down his cheeks and blood poured from his nose as he howled in pain.

Rosaline made her way up to the station just as a car full of policemen pulled up. She stood still in shock, watching as they marched into the station. She wondered briefly if it was safe to go in, and then they marched back out. She gasped when she realized what was happening.

"Let us go!" demanded Tybalt, outraged "I want to fight! Let me go!"

"I demand medical attention at once!" hollered Gabriel "Call a surgeon! I need nose reconstruction, right now!"

"Ha ha! Try being in show business now, Gabriel!" Mercutio cackled.

The boys were marched out of the train station, with the students cheering and clapping. Rosaline watched them. Tybalt cursed and yelled, as they forced him into a car.

The cars sped past her. Rosaline watched the students disperse. Then she caught sight of Angelo Fulgencio.


	49. I Have Never

Dawnstar94 - Yeah, GO BENNY! Even though I'm the author, I also kind of want to beat up Gabriel sometimes!

Well, I've hit fifty chapters. Today is also an important day, because it has been one year since I uploaded the first chapter of Child Swap. I feel like I've come a long way since then, make new friends, improved my writing and such. I love the fanfiction community and want to say thanks to everyone for their support!

I'm also glad I'm uploading this chapter today, because it's kind of inspired by Child Swap, it follows the same sort of themes. I rewrote this one several times as well, but I think I'm finally satisfied with the result.

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><p>The disorderly group were searched, asked their names and ages, and then led to a communal cell.<p>

"I can't stay in here, my mum will be expecting me!" yelled Tybalt.

"My dad will be wondering where I am!" cried Benvolio.

"I can't stay here! I need my own cell!" insisted Gabriel.

"An emergency callout to some unruly school boys fighting over girls? This is all we've got" scolded the policeman.

"I'll share with a hobo, I don't care! Just don't leave me here with these...people!" Gabriel hollered.

Romeo and Mercutio just smirked "If I had to get arrested once, then this was an awesome excuse!"

The cell door slammed shut, leaving the boys alone. Gabriel immediately retreated to the corner, and sat down. Blood had dried on his nose and upper lip. He snivelled. A doctor had examined him, and told him his nose was fine. It wasn't broken. Well, to Gabriel, it certainly didn't feel fine. Mercutio, Romeo and Benvolio, meanwhile, sat on a bench in the middle of the room. Tybalt leant against the wall by the door. An awkward silence filled the room.

"I don't believe this" Gabriel sobbed "I told them I was Angelo Fulgencio's son. I told them he'd be furious if he ever found out how they were treating me. And they just shut me in here!"

"Get used to it" grunted Tybalt "I've seen the insides of these plenty of times. They don't care if you're a Capulet either"

"This is so unfair!" cried Gabriel "I didn't start any of this. And my nose hurts"

"Well, it serves you right" seethed Mercutio "How dare you..."

"Stop it" said Benvolio, curling into a ball. His pounding heart had calmed, and he leant his head back against the wall tiredly. Gabriel stopped crying, and wiped his eyes. The blood had dried on his nose and upper lip, and Gabriel picked at it.

"This is just great. We're going to be stuck in here all afternoon" grumbled Tybalt.

"Together" added Mercutio with a creepy smile. Romeo sniggered. Then Mercutio slapped his hands on his knees and stood up "Right. We could be boring and just sit here, or we could have some fun. Who wants to play 'I Have Never...?'"

"Not with you!" sniffed Gabriel contemptuously.

"Don't talk to Mercutio like that" Benvolio snarled back.

Gabriel shrivelled defensively against the wall.

"Don't worry, we're already in the slammer. I'm not going to bother laying any fingers on you" scoffed Benvolio.

"I'm not scared of you" Gabriel glared back "You couldn't fight if your life depended on it. No. It's your _guard dogs_ I'm worried about"

Mercutio and Romeo both growled, low and scary, across the room at Gabriel. Tybalt shook his head, muttering something about them being childish.

"So, are we not even going to speak whilst we're in here?" asked Mercutio.

"Oh wow, Mercutio has a brain, and he figured something out!" Tybalt snapped sarcastically.

"That's more than you ever could. If a thought ever entered your brain, it would die of loneliness" said Romeo.

"Look who's talking" snorted Tybalt "Love-obsessed weirdo"

"Well, let's play... 'Would You Rather?'" announced Mercutio "I'll start. Would you rather suck Escalus' cock or Angelo's?"

"Mercutio!" shrieked Benvolio.

"That's my father you're talking about!" Gabriel yelled "Urgh! You made me throw up in my mouth!"

"So let's play 'I Have Never...'" said Romeo "Ok, I have never...slept with a girl who'd made a chastity pledge!"

"Oh, really?" Tybalt sniffed "Well, I've never harassed somebody with manic depression because I didn't like her son"

"Soz" shrugged Romeo.

"I have never stolen someone's girlfriend" Benvolio glared at Gabriel.

"I have never been an appalling boyfriend" retorted Gabriel.

"I've never bullied anyone" Benvolio continued.

"I've never wet the bed!"

"Enough! Let's play it properly. I have never...been caught in the act" Mercutio winked. Tybalt stood up.

"Oooh! Tybalt! Spill!" commanded Romeo.

"Several times. My mum walked in on me and Rosaline last week. This girl I was with before her, Shayna, I got caught with her in the school cupboard. And one of my first girlfriends, we spent the night together, her dad came home so I had to climb out the window with just my boxers on, and then her brothers walked past with me, hanging out the window, half-naked!"

"Ha ha!" Mercutio cackled "Right, your turn. What have you never done?"

"I have never...worn women's clothes"

Mercutio gasped with laughter as everyone but Tybalt stood up.

"Last Halloween said Benvolio.

"Last Halloween" added Romeo.

"Yesterday" Mercutio beamed. He turned to Gabriel "Right, Gabriel, you have to tell us about it"

"They're comfy. Most my clothes I made myself, so I make what I want. They're usually unisex anyway. It's my taste, my choice, so you can butt out if you're going to laugh" snarled Gabriel.

"I wasn't going to" Mercutio shrugged "I don't care what you wear. I was dancing around the house in my mum's skirt in front of Valentine's friends to embarrass him. I'm not bothered"

"Tell that to the rest of my year group" Gabriel bitterly complained.

"I'm not in the mood to listen to your whining" Tybalt interrupted "Someone, do another one"

"I have never...walked in my sleep" said Romeo.

Mercutio and Benvolio both stood up.

"Ok, so I was a kid, and I just woke up, went into Valentine's room, picked up his duvet, carried it through the house, put it on the sofa, and then went back to my own bed like nothing had happened, leaving Valentine lying freezing cold!"

"Ha! I remember that. It was hilarious. Poor Valentine" said Romeo.

"Well, I was staying at Romeo's house, and then _someone_ was making silly noises, and so I woke up and needed the loo" Benvolio glared at Mercutio "I didn't realise where I was, or what I was doing, and so I wandered around the place, before going into the kitchen and trying to-"

"Pee in the kitchen cupboard!" cackled the other two boys as Benvolio flushed. They high-fived.

"Remember when I threw up in the swimming pool?" asked Mercutio "After eating all your birthday cake?"

"Yes, Mercutio. It was rank" Romeo replied.

"Aw, we go way back, don't we?" said Mercutio.

"Enough of your little Montague friend buddy stories, let's just get on with the game" interrupted Tybalt "Mercutio, do another one"

"I have never...been mollycoddled by my parents"

Tybalt rolled his eyes "My mum won't leave me alone. She always insists on cooking my so-called favourite, 'Sausage Surprise!' and if I get a grade like a C she acts like I just got admitted by Harvard or Yale or something. She always shows my baby photos to my mates. And she showed them to Rosaline. Including the one where I was running around the garden naked!"

"Haha!" laughed Romeo "Well, I'm the only one in this room with parents who are still together, and they brought me up properly, and they pretty much brought up Benvolio and Mercutio as well"

"Why?" asked Gabriel.

"My folks divorced because of my dad's drinking" Mercutio shrugged "We moved back into the palace with Uncle Escalus, my cousin Paris and his parents. I hate Paris, he's such a stuck-up pompous prick. He keeps trying to get us to call him Count Paris because that will be his title when he comes of age. He just loves reminding me of the fact that I'm last in line and that I won't get a title or anything. I keep trying to get him to acknowledge the fact that I don't care"

Tybalt shifted, realizing that he was also in a similar situation in his family. He pushed the thought aside. He hated Mercutio. That was right.

"Well, my mother died of cancer when I was ten, leaving me with my dad. It was horrible" murmured Benvolio quietly. He cleared his throat, and went on "He favourites my sister and gives her everything she wants, and believes her over me, every time we argue! He'll let her buy loads of Twilight and High School Musical crap, but moans at me if I ask for a measly ten pounds to buy science revision book that will help me get a good grade!"

Gabriel also shifted, realizing that he was in a similar situation. But he pushed the thought aside. Rosaline was on _his _side, not Angelo's. And, unlike Benvolio, he didn't care that he didn't get on with Angelo. That was what he told himself.

"Mum always used to go around Romeo's, because she was pals with his mum. And we all used to hang out together" said Mercutio "Didn't we, guys? We go way back"

"I wish I had some friends like that" said Gabriel wistfully.

"I wonder why you don't have any...oh, because you're a psycho!" Mercutio declared.

"I'm not a psycho" glared Gabriel "I'm..."

"Yes?" Mercutio said grandly.

"Whatever. I've had enough" Gabriel hugged his knees to his chest.

"But I want to know" pressed Mercutio "In fact, if you don't tell us why you aren't a psycho, I'm going to sing a special song for you"

"Just tell him" urged Benvolio "His singing is horrible"

"Now, now, Ben-ben, that's not nice" tutted Mercutio "Oooh, I feel a song coming on! Oh baby, baby, how was I supposed to know? That something wasn't right here. Oh baby, baby, I shouldn't have let you go-"

"Shut up!" yelled Tybalt "Just tell him and get him to shut up"

"Because everyone hates me!" Gabriel shrieked "My dad is trying to abandon me for a daughter who is everything I'll never be, all the boys in my year group think I'm a joke, and everyone in Verona is always feuding and fighting and hating and I can't fight, and it makes me feel like, like, I'm constantly on edge. I have to get people psychologically before they can beat me up, and it's because of you four always fighting and hating on each other, and getting all the other boys involved. Masculinity is not about beating people up. I'm sick of your petty feuding. You don't have a reason to hate each other, you're just wrecking people's lives for the sheer hell of it"

"Of course we have a reason to fight! Tybalt is a mean, aggressive twat who beats up people for pleasure!" shot back Mercutio.

"Yeah, he used to bully us for no reason when we were in nursery school. He shoved Benvolio over when we were kids for no reason" Romeo added.

"You deserve it, for always being a bunch of freaks" Tybalt snapped.

"I don't like fighting anymore than you, Gabriel" said Benvolio, turning to his rival "I'm sorry if it makes you feel this way, I feel the same sometimes. You don't have to act like that, you know, you can always try to help make peace"

"Whatever. You were trying to ruin my looks a few hours ago. As if I'll accept apologies from you" Gabriel turned to glance at the jail door "Things will never change. It'll take a miracle to change things in Verona"


	50. Reconcilation

Dawnstar94 - Not all of them I hope!

Oreoskidz - Me and some of the others at my school say it to the chavs when they yell at us!

So, the boys have been banged up! Leaving Rosaline left to confront Angelo. I hope I've written this chapter ok, I also rewrote this one many times. I hope Angelo comes across as sympathetic. I find it hard to write him and Gabriel as sympathetic. Oh and I also just realised, it's the 7th March, which means it's Rosaline's birthday! Happy Birthday Rosaline!

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><p>He waved, and walked over to her calmly.<p>

"Did you see that? Gabriel was just fighting, and he was arrested-"

"Yes, I saw that" said Angelo "But Gabriel can wait"

"Why are you here?" demanded Rosaline.

"I was picking up a new suit from a department store across the road. I heard the commotion. And Lord Capulet had received some very strange text messages from various students in the school. I thought I'd investigate as well"

"So I suppose you know as well, don't you?" said Rosaline "I'm dating Tybalt Capulet, resident thug of Verona. And I've slept with him. Hooray!"

"I don't care who you sleep with. It's not anybody's business but your own. As long as you do it safely, I don't care" Angelo cleared his throat "This is awkward. I suppose you don't fancy standing around here with people pointing and gossiping at you. What say we go and talk over in that cafe there?"

He pointed, and Rosaline recognised the little cafe where she and Gabriel had met up a few weeks ago.

"I suppose so"

Rosaline and her dad walked over, and Angelo opened a menu.

"This cappuccino is my favourite, but Gabriel hates this type. What about you?"

"I like it, but it has full fat so I don't drink it because I don't want to gain weight. I thought Gabriel liked it as well, but he said he doesn't want to gain any weight either"

"That boy" Angelo shook his head "I worry about him. He barely eats anything. It's not healthy the way he carries on for those ballet classes. He'll make himself sick. It's not the lifestyle I want for my son, but he's just so stubborn. I worry about him, you know. He's turning out worse than my brother Iago"

"My personal opinion is that he's starving for a bit of affection" Rosaline replied curtly.

"It's hard, being a single parent and juggling work"

"You could say that again" snarled Rosaline "After you threw mum out"

Angelo shook his head with a sigh "I did not throw her out. We divorced. She made this big speech about standing on her own two feet, and went to live in the Burry Estate. I was prepared to pay support, but she refused, and blocked me out. I tried to get into contact. But every time I did, it was blown up in the press. Not only did I want to hold onto my reputation, I wanted to protect your identity. Children shouldn't grow up in the limelight"

"So, you're saying my mother lied to me about you? You're saying that she deliberately refused your support and then told us you wanted nothing to do with us, and only cared about your new brat?"

"I'm not saying she's a liar. I'm saying she was upset. We were all upset. I shouldn't have married her just because she was pregnant. I wasn't ready for marriage in my twenties. Nor was I ready in my thirties. It's only now I think I could cope with it"

"You should have made a chastity pledge. Then you could be a forty year old virgin" scoffed Rosaline. Angelo snorted in reply.

"Now, that, I never wanted to happen. I explained to you how hard it was to be myself when I was younger, and try to rise to power as a politician. I wanted both, but I couldn't have both. I had to make a choice of one or the other. It's not like being a celebrity, where you can do what you want and people will still think you're cool. Everything I did, and still do, every suit I buy, every remark I make, the image I create for myself and the reputation I hold, judges whether or not I'll get to remain in my job. I sacrificed a lot of things for this. You can understand that, can't you?"

Rosaline thought of her phoney chastity pledge. She glanced down "Yes"

"There you go then"

"How do you know all this stuff?" asked Rosaline.

"Contrary to what Gabriel would have you believe, we do actually speak sometimes. And it doesn't usually involve me slapping him around the face for wanting to be a ballerina. Or danseur, as he keeps trying to get me to say"

"He makes it sound like you're some oppressive dictatorish Mussolini reincarnation" admitted Rosaline.

Angelo laughed, a deep charismatic laugh "Of course not! He just likes attention. Every time I'd hold a meeting at my house, he'd either pull down the curtains or kick over a pot plant. Silly boy"

"Tybalt used to pull down curtains when he was a kid" mused Rosaline "I always used to laugh at him doing so. Tybalt the Terror, Uncle Egues called him"

"Egues told me all about it. He used to tell me how you were getting on"

"He did?"

"Yes. He understood about the situation. He'd been in a similar situation, where he'd knocked another woman up whilst being married to another. But he was lucky – he got to raise both his children. It's a long story. He told me about a possible Head Girl status. Reminded me of something that happened when I was younger"

"What?" asked Rosaline.

"This teacher told me I would become a prefect if I started this mentor the younger kids program" replied Angelo with a roll of his eyes "I knew being a prefect would help me get into the university of my choice. The thing was, I hated the younger kids. I was lousy at emphasizing with them. They came to me with problems and I'd say stupid things to make them go away. I got to be prefect, but there were about a dozen year sevens with unsolved issues because I couldn't be bothered with them"

"Kids drive me nuts" admitted Rosaline "I don't want any"

"Me too. One of the MPs in my party has had a baby, and he brings in these pictures of just this thing, smothered in goo. Where's the appeal in that?"

"Looks like I take after you then"

"I guess you do. You've turned out pretty nicely for a goo smothered thing. Well. You weren't bad. You were quite a sweet little thing. I have a picture here"

Angelo bent over, and reached into his wallet. He dug through some photographs "That's Gabriel when he was five. He used to be quite a cute kid. Stubborn, but cute. And here's you. I never stopped carrying it"

Rosaline accepted the photograph "Mum still has this dress and the shoes"

"I remember it well. It was her favourite. Pink always suited you. Those little shoes, you never used to leave the house without them"

"I know, she told me. Mum said they were lucky, as I won a baby competition and earned myself free diapers for a year"

"It's funny, Gabriel was on the cover of Baby Vogue when he was three months old. I guess I have good genes"

"Or maybe just a good taste in women" shrugged Rosaline "I don't look like you. Neither does Gabriel or Livia"

"No, you look more like my father's mother's side of the family. I have German ancestry through my grandmother, your great-grandmother. My grandfather, well, your great-grandfather, and his family lived here in Verona for all his life, for generations. I think some of them worked on a farm"

"So we have quite some history"

"Yes, we do. I've got records in my library. I should ask Gabriel to go and get them out sometimes. He has more time than me. When he's not prancing around in a tutu or spreading rumours, he's a bit of a bookworm. It's such a shame. He's a clever lad, he just cares about his appearance all the time" Angelo sighed.

"I care about my appearance. And my brains. You can care about both, that's what I've learnt in the past few weeks" replied Rosaline "I like to read in the Capulet's library. They've got loads of records. It's the only stuff Tybalt will actually sit down and read. We'd sit down together and read them"

Angelo looked sad for a moment "You really have grown up with them, haven't you?"

"Yes" replied Rosaline "They provided everything"

Angelo nodded, and then he looked down. Rosaline watched him, as he leant back up.

"I have something to confess to you"

"What?" asked Rosaline.

"It wasn't just the Capulets providing everything"

"What do you mean?" frowned Rosaline.

"It was me as well. I work with Egues on a daily basis. I already told you how I kept up with you through him. But that wasn't all he did. I gave him money, which he'd then give to your mother. I just knew Camilla would never accept it if it was from me after the way she'd screamed at me. Every birthday, I would try and make some sort of contact. I know I could have called a lawyer, fought for access, but I knew your mother would have gone broke and you would both have been put into custody with me, but I don't believe children should be separated from their mothers unless necessary"

Rosaline gasped. Tears formed in her eyes. Angelo reached over to clasp her hands.

"There, there. It's all right. We're all grown up now. Us adults as well. We can all get along with each other"

"Why did you wait this long?" sobbed Rosaline.

"You're grown up now. You can make your own choices"

He pulled her into a hug.

"What a great big, fucked up, dysfunctional family I have"

He laughed, not telling her off for swearing.

"The drama at your school will die down" assured Angelo, gently patting her golden hair "In theory, there is nothing they can do about it. You made the pledge and changed your mind. Simple"

"Yeah, but I'm just going to get dirty looks and people whispering about me. And my reputation will have been ruined. What am I going to do? I have another exam tomorrow. I can't go back in there. I ran out today, but they're going to catch up with me soon enough. Everybody was talking and gossiping, I'll never live this down. And then I just yelled at my last ally, the last person who'd ever stand by me. I shouldn't have blamed Tibby without listening to the whole story. He'll never forgive me now" cried Rosaline.

"It will be all right" said Angelo "There is nothing they can do. Sure you made the pledge, but you pledged to Gabriel. He's the only one you can get in trouble with. And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't get pissy with you for changing your mind. That's all you need to answer too. You made the pledge, fell in love, and changed your mind. Your decision, entirely. And, speaking from experience, scandals do die down. By next week, this will all be forgotten. People will have found something else to talk about. You just have to keep your chin up and head high"

"Easier said than done"

"I know, I know. But after twenty five years in politics, you get used to it. I mean, there was a chap in my party who was caught buying Vaseline and a cucumber, at the same time"

Rosaline couldn't help but snigger.

"But it was all forgotten the next week, when another guy in a different party publicly declared that they would come down harder on youth offenders, then his son was caught behaving drunk and disorderly on the streets. It could be worse, you know"

"Could it?"

"Yes. I mean...this is just a high school scandal. People do grow up. To some extent. People will look back and think...why was that even an issue?"

"But it's now! I'll never get through this!" Rosaline cried fustratedly "What should I do, reinvent myself as a slut and-"

"Now, I wouldn't go that far" said Angelo firmly "You're anything but a slut. You've done well for yourself. I'm lucky to have such a smart daughter. You are just a teenager, learning about life, learning to have fun, make mistakes if necessary. And anyway, each mistake you make, sometimes they're not even mistakes. It's called growing up"

"I suppose"

"There's miles worse stuff you could be doing at your age. You could be into drugs or drink, or partying until four am in the morning, like a certain son of mine does. As long as you stay safe, I'm happy for you to do whatever. And I will say that to whoever criticizes you, and I know your mum will too"


	51. Do Something

Dawnstar94 - No problem! Have a nice time in Florida. I went when I was seven and loved it! Also, so glad I made Angelo sympathetic. I kind of feel bad for him, stuck trying to raise Gabriel.

Aw, Angelo and Rosaline have made up. Back to the boys in jail.

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><p>By the end of the afternoon, Benvolio, Romeo and Mercutio sat on one side of the room. Romeo was sitting up, and Benvolio dozed, leaning against him, with his legs resting on Mercutio. They were close enough to sit like that.<p>

Tybalt snored away on a bench, and Gabriel sulkily brushed through his blond hair with his fingers, washed away the blood from his upper lip with spit, and tried to look somewhat presentable.

"Right" said Gabriel "Who wants to play 'Which Celebrity?'"

"Ok. What celebrity do I resemble?" asked Romeo.

"It's a tie between Justin Bieber and Zac Efron" replied Gabriel. Romeo's mouth fell open in disgust.

"What about me?" demanded Mercutio.

"Danny DeVito"

Mercutio rolled his eyes "Whatever, Gabriel. Hey, what about Tybalt?"

"That guy out of Gossip Boy" replied Gabriel "The one who plays Buck"

"I think he looks like Robert Pattinson!" chuckled Romeo.

"Beatrix will never fancy him again!" giggled Benvolio.

"No, no! He looks like Marlon Brando!" exclaimed Gabriel.

"Grugh" answered Tybalt, sitting up "What did I miss?"

"See, Marlon Brando! And he's totally like him. Marlon Brando got expelled from school for riding his motorbike through the school halls" said Gabriel.

"Don't give him ideas" said Mercutio "Anyway, I think you look like..."

"The one who played the Queen Bee in Mean Girls!" said Romeo.

"Rachel McAdams? I'll take it as a compliment. I think I look like Madonna" Gabriel smirked.

"What, old?" asked Mercutio.

"Madonna is not old. She's only fifty something" Gabriel answered defensively "She's awesome. I have all her albums. And Angelo went to go and see her concert back in the eighties, and he has some signed records by her. He says I can have them when he's dead"

"Oh, aren't you a cheerful young man!" remarked Mercutio.

The door opened.

"We're letting you off. No charges are being pressed" announced the policeman.

"So you didn't need to keep us here all afternoon" grumbled Tybalt, straightening up, and rubbing his back. He and the boys followed the policeman out into the hall, where his mother and uncle waited. Not only were they waiting, but Angelo was waiting, and so were Escalus and Anthony and Claudio Montague. Escalus was obviously the most displeased of them.

"Mercutio!" he hissed "How dare you fight like an animal. As my nephew, you should know better!"

"I had a really fun time, Uncle Es!" sang Mercutio "We all played 'I Have Never...' and guess what! Tybalt has a tattoo on his butt!"

"It's on my leg!" snarled Tybalt.

Angelo got up, and hurried over to look at Gabriel's nose "My God! It's not broken, is it?"

"Can I have a nose job now?" asked Gabriel.

"Don't be stupid!" Angelo rolled his eyes "You don't need cosmetic surgery. You're perfect the way you are. Never mind. Come on, I have to talk to you"

"What about?" asked Gabriel.

"Let's get out of here first" said Angelo. He patted Gabriel lightly on the shoulder. Gabriel looked amazed at the slight display of affection, but accepted it nonetheless. He turned to look back at the Capulets and Montagues as they left.

"I'm so fed up of all you naughty bad Montagues winding up my son!" Regina announced "My Tibby is a good boy!"

"My Tibby is a good boy!" mimicked Mercutio in Benvolio's ear. They both snickered. They were all friends again. Benvolio's broken heart already felt as though it had been bathed in a warm light. He would get through this. And he would get through it sensibly. He wouldn't fall to pieces and throw a tantrum. His dad got up to greet him.

"That was appalling behaviour" he said firmly to the three boys, but then he looked at Gabriel nursing his nose and whining at Angelo as they left, and bent over closely to Mercutio "Nice shot"

The Montagues left before the Capulets could, presumably to keep things separate.

"Well, Tybalt, there's no point in telling you off. You'll just do it again" Lord Capulet rolled his eyes "What happened this time?"

"Benvolio went crazy. He went for Gabriel because Gabriel stole his little girlfriend. Quite hilarious if you ask me. Anyway, I got involved, and someone called the police on us" Tybalt sighed.

"And what's all this I hear about Rosaline breaking her chastity pledge?" asked Lord Capulet "I have been receiving bizarre texts from virtually everyone in your school. How they got my number, I do not know. What is going on?"

They made their way out of the station and climbed into Lord Capulet's car.

"Everyone at school found out about me and Rosaline" growled Tybalt "You want to know how?"

"How did they do that, sweetipops?" asked Regina.

"That fucking bastard of yours filmed us, showed it to Romeo Montague, stole Rosaline's birth control pills, showed him those, and then that Montague only went and told everyone!" roared Tybalt.

"That little brat!" snarled Lord Capulet.

"I know, I hate Hermia, just toss her out already" grumbled Tybalt.

"I meant the Montague!" Lord Capulet snapped.

"Oh" mumbled Tybalt.

"That's not a very nice thing to say about your cousin, Tibby darling"

"Whatever, mum!"

"So what's happened with you two?" asked Lord Capulet.

Tybalt shrugged, trying to act like he didn't care.

"You can't pull the wool over my eyes, Tybalt, I know you too well" Lord Capulet raised an eyebrow "Juliet said she saw you crying"

"I did not cry" hissed Tybalt through gritted teeth.

"Oh, my poor baby! My poor little poppet! Do you want a tissue? Come and give mummy a hug" cooed Regina.

"Pack it in, mum!" commanded Tybalt "It was hayfever"

"So what did happen?" asked Lord Capulet impatiently.

"She thinks I bragged to people when I didn't" Tybalt replied "It's not fair, just because I bragged about some other whores doesn't mean I'd do the same. I'm sick of people having this constant image of me as this...as this..."

"I don't believe this" growled Lord Capulet "Bloody Montagues! You never know how low they'll go"

"Hermia helped" added Tybalt.

"I'll deal with her" Lord Capulet nodded "I'll confiscate that wretched guitar she insists on playing"

Tybalt snorted with laughter. He knew Hermia loved that guitar, and dearly loved the idea of her going without it. Serve her right.

"What about you, Tibby cat?" asked Regina.

"What about me?"

"What are you going to do?"

"About what? Oh, I'll beat up Mercutio or Romeo or Benvolio, which ever one I see first"

"No!" Regina dismissed "Rosaline. What are you going to do about her?"

"I don't know" admitted Tybalt.

"Well, you have to do something! You love her, don't you?"

"Yeah"

"So do something! Send her some flowers. You could write her a poem!"

Tybalt groaned. He couldn't write poetry. Thank goodness he couldn't, because Rosaline hated poetry.

"She hates poetry, mum"

"Aw. Maybe you could sing her a love song outside her window?"

Tybalt choked.

Regina shook her head "Well, you never were a great singer. Perhaps you could rap!"

"No, mum!" Tybalt yelled "Stop interfering"

"I'm just trying to help..."

"Tybalt, don't be mean to your mum" scolded Lord Capulet "For goodness sake, if you want her, do something about it! You don't need to sing poems or rap any of that stupid crap you listen too-"

"It's not crap, it's cool!"

"Well, just do something! Because I'm not putting up with you sulking and snapping at everyone about this. Sort it out, boy"


	52. Friends

Dawnstar94 - Lucky you! I went to Disney World when I went to Florida. Hope you have a great time!

At least the boys are out of jail. Now, I think the Montague boys are going to make up.

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><p>As soon as he could get his angry mother and angry uncle off his back, Mercutio snuck out the palace and headed over to the Montague Ranch. He passed a few of Rosaline's poisonous friends, and they just glared at him. Scrawny rats. Mercutio knew the code to get into the Ranch, and so he typed it in and let himself in. In fact, he even had a key to the front door. He let himself in, and walked through the corridors to the dining room.<p>

"Why didn't you tell us this?" demanded Anthony, Benvolio's dad.

"I didn't think you'd care"

"Of course I care, you stupid boy! Who do you think I am, Angelo Fulgencio?"

Mercutio snorted. That was a good one. He waited a while before deciding to make his presence known.

"And I don't know what was going on with the crush on Rosaline" Lord Montague shook his head "I know you are fifteen, Romeo, but really. It's getting out of hand. It's not love, it's not even a normal teenage crush, it's an obsession. And she's not good for you either"

"Yes, she may seem like a proper young lady when you look at her, unlike the one with the short ginger hair," added Paulina, Romeo's mother "But the truth is, she is a fake. She's just a social climber. She wouldn't care about you for who you were, which is the sort of person I want for you. That's not a very good type of girl to go for"

"Rosaline is like Britney Spears. Britney said that she would remain a virgin until she got married, then she dated Justin Timberlake and slept with him, and then she cheated on him with some other guy and slept with him as well" added Beatrix.

The rest of the Montagues shook their heads and rolled their eyes.

"It's really annoying" Benvolio continued "It's driving us apart. Mercutio gets so pissed off with you, and then you fall out, and I'm stuck in the middle!"

"Greetings, my favourite unofficial family!" declared Mercutio, bouncing into the room.

"Mercutio! How did you get in here?" gasped Romeo, obviously forgetting that he gave his friend a key.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll pay for the window and the dead security man" replied Mercutio. He looked at the solemn faces "I'm joking. You gave me a key, nitwit"

"We were just talking about..." Benvolio finished with a hand gesture.

"We were telling them off for fighting" corrected Anthony.

"Naughty boys" scolded Mercutio, in an Escalus voice.

"You were part of it, you broke Gabriel's nose!" Romeo protested.

"It's not broken. Angelo called their doctor, and it's just a bit swollen. Whoops. I should be careful not to let my hand slip when I'm trying to high-five people's faces with my fist clenched"

Both Romeo and Benvolio sniggered.

"Well, we'll leave you boys to make up. If you need us, we'll be in the front room" said Paulina. She, Beatrix and the adults left. Mercutio sat down next to his friends.

"So...how are my favourite sexy bums?"

"Stop calling us that!"

"What? You Montagues have great backsides. I wish I was a Montague so I could have nice butt. You ought to wear your trousers lower, especially you, Benvolio"

"I don't want my crack hanging out!" cried Benvolio.

"Teehee" said Mercutio. Then he suddenly went solemn "So, they told us to talk, didn't they?"

"Well, that's what we're doing, isn't it?" asked Romeo.

"Yes, but I gathered we need to talk about other things. The fact that we all fell out and left each other vulnerable to predators" said Mercutio.

"Predators?" Benvolio asked.

"Yes. Tybalt...and stupid useless Capulet rip-off version of me Gabriel"

"Oh" said Benvolio "Is that his new name?"

"Yes. Because that's all he is. Tybalt's jealous you have a friend so amazingly amazing and sexy as me, so he tried to find his own. And he got Gabriel, the horrible half-brother of his girlfriend"

"Ha ha. Does Tybalt actually have any friends? Like, you know, proper friends, not just people he beats up other people with for sport?" asked Romeo.

"Of course not. People only respect him because if they don't he will beat them up. Not like us. We go way back, don't we?" said Mercutio.

"I've known you since the day I was born" nodded Romeo.

"And so have I" added Benvolio.

"Why throw that away for a stupid petty argument over girls?" asked Mercutio.

"He's right. We should just forget about girls. It's not like I'll ever get another girl like Rose again" Benvolio sighed regretfully "I feel like it was all my fault. What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, Benny. It's what's wrong with Gabriel that's the problem. I swear he needs to see a psychologist. And anyway, don't beat yourself up over it. Girls are stupid" replied Mercutio.

"What about Hermia?" asked Romeo.

"What about Hermy-wa?"

"She's a girl"

"But she's one of us" said Mercutio "She does it like a dude. But that's not the point. I think Romeo owes us an apology over the Rosaline thing"

"I liked her, I genuinely liked her! I thought she was really beautiful, and I didn't realise about the Tybalt thing. I believed the chastity lie..."

"And you ought to apologise to us for being such a twat and going on and on about her! You're like Beatrix for Edward Cullen, except, to your credit, you fall in love with real people"

Benvolio snorted.

"I'm sorry" said Romeo.

"Now let's have a hug" announced Mercutio.

"No!" cried the two Montagues. Mercutio pulled his signature freaky grin.

"Hugging time! Hugging time with Wooshy-wo! Come and hug me! Or I'll get you!"

He caught Benvolio before he could run. Benvolio groaned, and let his bizarre friend hug him. Eventually, Mercutio hugged Romeo as well, and they sat back down again.

"Well, anyway, we need to spend some time bonding together again. What do you say?"

"Bonding?" asked Benvolio.

"Male bonding!" responded Mercutio "In fact, I think, this weekend, we should build a Man Cave. Only men allowed"

"Says the boy...who watches Mean Girls, possesses a pair of pink trousers and has a poster of Lady Gaga on his wall" said Romeo.

"So maybe I'm a bit camp"

"A bit!" coughed Benvolio.

"Whatever! So who wants to watch I Love You, Man?" asked Mercutio.

"In a minute" replied Benvolio. He straightened up "There's something I have to do first"

"What's that?" asked Romeo.

"Nothing. I won't be long" Benvolio exited, shoving on his shoes as he went. Then he took off out the Ranch. He knew where he was headed. This is what he should have done the moment Gabriel clapped his greedy eyes on Rose, and the minute she'd started responding to his dirty advances.

He knocked on the door to her house. Her mother answered.

"Hello, Benvolio. Were you here to see Rose?"

"Yes. I was. Is that ok?"

"It's fine. I heard about the break-up. I hope you get back together and you talk some sense into her. I don't know if I like this Gabriel person..."

"I'm here to talk sense" replied Benvolio "But there's no reunion the cards"

Rose soon arrived in the hallway "Benvolio" she faltered.

"I'm not stopping" Benvolio began, speaking as quickly as he could "Before you can ask, I don't want you back. I'm here to tell you that I deserve better. Date your gender-confused ballerina all you like, I don't care. He'll break your heart like you broke mine. You'll regret being with him. I'm not just safe, reliable old Benvolio. I'm passionate in my own way and in my own right. I deserve better than an immature thrill-seeking girl. I don't care if it takes me five minutes, or fifty years, I will find her, and you'll wish you never let me go. I deserve so much better than you, so just...don't bother speaking to me again. I don't even want to be friends"

Benvolio turned, and stormed down the road. But inside, he felt like he was on air. He walked down the road, until he encountered a petite ginger girl, sitting on the pavement.

"Hermia, what are you doing down there?"

"Oh. Hey Benvolio!" greeted Hermia, from where she sat on the pavement.

"Hi...what are you doing there?"

"Um...I kind of got kicked out the house because Tybalt found out and told my dad and Rosaline about how I showed Romeo the DVD and Rosaline's pills. I think he was angrier that I actually managed to get into your house! So I yelled at them all, called Rosaline a fake, and dad told me to get out. What are you doing out here? Aren't you in trouble?"

"I was" said Benvolio "But we all had a chat, and then I just went to Rose's to tell her I deserved better. She left me for Gabriel two days ago"

"Shit, Benny! Him? Urgh, he makes my skin crawl" Hermia promptly shuddered on the spot "Well, anyway, good for you! Standing up for yourself. I wouldn't have left a sweet guy like you for a bitchy whore like him"

"Rose kept calling Gabriel sweet"

"Well, she's lost her mind. You'd make a way better boyfriend than him. Number one, you look like a guy. Number two, you act like a guy. Number three, you have a nicer ass than he does"

"I have a nicer...ass?"

"Yeah! You're much better looking. You've got such cute cheeks, and the way your hair gets all messy, it's kind of endearing. You rock that geek chic look. I mean, no one else, not even Mercutio, could pull off your dad's old jumper from the eighties"

"Thanks" Benvolio self-consciously readjusted his jumper, and then sat down beside her "I still have yucky spots and braces though"

"So? Those spots will be gone in a year or two. And your teeth are going to look great when the braces come off. I mean, they may be manky now, but if you look at Gabriel's teeth, they're nasty and kind of pointy. I'd take kissing you over him any day of the week. And he smokes. I hate smokers. He'll have yellow teeth and yellow fingers and wrinkles by the time he's thirty. You, however, will just grow into a hot science professor type. End of story, Ben-ben wins" finished Hermia firmly.

"Thanks" smiled Benvolio.


	53. Make Up, Make Up, Never Ever Break Up

Dawnstar94 - Haha! That made me chuckle. I couldn't resist putting foreshadowing for Benvolio and Hermia.

Oreoskidz - I had to put that in...teehee!

Now, our favourite couple Ros and Tibby need to make up. Tyson and Roxanne were going to be a parody of Tybalt and Rosaline earlier on in the story, but they didn't make it to the final cut until now.

* * *

><p>Tybalt swaggered down the Burry Estate. He knew the place off by heart, as he roamed around it by night, with his gang. He knew his way to the fast food shops, the crumbling community centre, the horrible health care centre, the filthy recreational grounds, and Rosaline's house.<p>

He stood outside, wondering whether he should just knock on the door. She might not be home. Her mum might tell him to leave. Her sister might tell him to get lost. He waited for five minutes.

Those neighbours of hers, Tyson and Roxanne, were having a row. Tybalt could hear them. He hated being in an argument with Rosaline. He normally liked yelling at people, but for some reason, he always felt guilty when they had quarrelled. Tyson and Roxanne appeared to be yelling about everything from money, fidelity, that stupid Boxer dog who seemed to like barking at anyone and anything, and their horrid snot-nosed brats who Rosaline had had the misfortune of babysitting when strapped for cash.

In the end, Tybalt decided to throw a rock at her window. He wanted to talk to her privately, not with her mum and sister getting involved. He dug around the gutter, ignoring the broken glass and syringes that were also there, before finding a couple. Tybalt pelted them at the window.

"Rosaline! Hey! Rosaline!"

She didn't answer, so Tybalt shouted louder "ROOOOOSAAAALIIIINEEEEE! HEEEEEYYYY! ROS!"

The window barged open "Go away!" Livia instructed "She's in the shower!"

"I want to talk to her!" Tybalt pleaded desperately "It will only take five minutes"

"Yeah, and Rosaline takes five hours in the shower. Come back later"

"No! I want to see her now! ROS! OI! ROSALINE!"

Livia was shoved aside. Tybalt heard some hissing, and then his girl appeared in the window. She was wearing no make-up, her hair was wet, and she was wearing a low-cut silky nightie and dressing gown. She opened the window wider.

"What is it, Tibby?"

"Ros" said Tybalt.

"Yes, what is it, Tibby?"

"I'm sorry about earlier" sighed Tybalt, leaning against her wheelie bin. He noticed that she wrinkled her nose disgustedly, and so he leant away from it.

"That's ok, Tibby. I should have listened to you first. But what was I supposed to think? What other explanation is there? We didn't tell anyone" said Rosaline.

"I know, I know. But I can explain" promised Tybalt.

"What?"

"We weren't careful enough. That day at the ice skating rink, when Mercutio and his brigade of freaks-"

Rosaline snickered.

"When we snuck out the back for a quickie, he and Hermia filmed us. They showed Romeo the film for his birthday, and he told everyone that we were together, and sleeping together, when Hermia showed him your birth control pills" explained Tybalt.

"What?" frowned Rosaline.

"Hermia stole your birth control pills, and showed them to Romeo"

"How did she get hold of those? I went on one brand, had bad side effects, threw it away and went on a different brand. They never leave my underwear draw. How did she get hold of them?"

"You know what she's like. She must have stolen them one day when she came round"

"Hermia never comes round. She's banned" Rosaline frowned further.

"But she had them! Paris told me"

"Paris told you?"

"Yeah, after everyone found out at school earlier today. He was the first to tell me. That's why I tried to comfort you, why I tried to hug you"

"But how would she have taken them? Are you sure this isn't some story you've made up to get me back?"

Rosaline's mind raced back to all the people who'd been invited to her house. Suddenly, she had an idea of who the real culprit was. But due to the fact that Juliet and Tybalt were close, and she didn't want to burn any bridges that were rebuilding between herself and Tybalt, she held her tongue. This would make great blackmailing material instead.

"No!" insisted Tybalt "Trust me, am I smart enough to invent a story to get myself out of trouble?"

"You have before"

"Yeah, because you told me it"

"Well, that's true" shrugged Rosaline "You aren't the brightest crayon in the box"

"I'll get to the bottom of this" promised Tybalt "We'll get our revenge on Hermia. I'll take care of the filthy bastard. In fact, we should get Uncle Egues to kick her out. That would be great"

Rosaline grinned, leaning against the window pane. Tybalt was treated to a sight of her cleavage bouncing out of her nightie. Even though this wasn't the time for such thoughts, damn, she did turn him on. She was perfect. She was everything he wanted in a girl. She was voluptuous, sexy, she had the looks that turned him on. But she was also independent and smart, brave enough to stand up to him and for that she had his respect. Tybalt briefly wondered if this was what a soulmate meant.

"We?" asked Rosaline flirtatiously.

"Well, yeah. It's no fun being horrid to Hermia when I'm on my own. I can't hit her since she's a girl"

"She's a chick with a dick"

Tybalt chuckled, amused. But then Rosaline sighed. Tybalt watched that cleavage heave.

"I don't know, Tibby. I was talking to Angelo earlier"

"Angelo?"

"Yes. He explained it all to me, his side of the story. It turns out mum was blocking him from keeping contact with us. But that's ok. I've already forgiven her. He acted like a douche to her, but he can still prove himself to Livia and myself, if she also decides to make contact with him. He seems willing to make up for lost time. I think I'll give him a second chance. What about you?"

"I don't know. He's your dad. But whatever happens, if it ever becomes necessary, I will pay him a visit with my mates and I'll-"

"I'm sure it won't come to that, Tibby" sighed Rosaline, almost fondly.

"It better not" growled Tybalt "So what did he say? Does he know about us as well?"

"Yes, but he doesn't care. He said it's my business, not his. And he said the gossip at school would die down soon. He said he knew from experience, and he said there would be another rumour going around within a week or two"

"That was nice of him. It's true, too. Things will die down. I know you care about what people think of you, even if I don't"

"Oh, Tibby" Rosaline sighed "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know" Tybalt shrugged uselessly. This drama over something so private as a person's sex life was ridiculous. Tybalt was utterly clueless when it came to the Women's Rights Movement, but this took the biscuit.

"Well, that was helpful" remarked Rosaline "Angelo says things will die down, but until then...what should we say?"

"That we've been engaged since we were six and so that's like marriage? You know, long-term commitment?"

"That's it!" shrieked Rosaline.

"What?"

"At the Chastity Ball, I said, long-term loving commitment like marriage, but not marriage. And that's we have, right?"

"Yeah"

"So, according to my vow, I haven't broken any vows, I have honoured them!" Rosaline cried ecstatically.

"Really?" asked Tybalt, confused.

"Yes!" gasped Rosaline "Ha! That's how I'll get out of it. I know we've only been officially dating since my birthday, but we were together long before that. Ten years. Some couples marry after only being together for a year or because the wife is knocked up. Surely we have a deeper relationship than that? And what is marriage, anyway? A piece of paper?"

"Well, it's about two families coming together as one"

"Yeah, and look how well my parent's did" Rosaline rolled her eyes "That's also what I'll say! That I don't believe in marriage anymore, only love. Because after finding out how my folks slugged it out, would you believe in marriage?"

Tybalt, to that, had no answer.

"Never mind. We're sixteen and seventeen. Plenty of time to think about it later" Rosaline replied to his silent answer "And in spite of this, I think we're good. We can be open now. Can we stay together, Tibby? I want to stay with you. I don't think there's anyone in this world I trust more than you"

"Yes, Rosaline. I love you. More than I've ever loved anyone else" replied Tybalt honestly "You're the first and only girl I've ever loved. I mean, I love my family and all, but this is different. I feel very different"

"I should have listened to you first. I know you'd never lie to me like that. I know you aren't perfect, but to me you are. We should just stick together from now on. We should only be out for each other. We shouldn't listen to anything anyone else says about the other. It should be just you and me against the world"

"We can be brilliant when we're together" admitted Tybalt "Someday, we won't be against the world, we'll run the world"

"We will. We'll run our enemies right into the ground. We're unstoppable. We'll get rich together, buy a big house, and have everything we ever wanted"

"No kids" said Tybalt.

"Certainly not. Aren't we just out for each other?" Rosaline leant her head on her palms.

"We are"

"I know people will say we're a shallow couple, that you only want me for my tits and I only want you for your cash, and that we'll never last, but the fact is, it's not true. People will never understand what we have. I mean, I feel safe when I'm with you, you get me?"

"Yeah. I get you. And I don't feel like I'm a ticking time bomb of anger. People only see the bad with us because that's what they want to see"

"From now on, I don't care what people think of me" decided Rosaline "I think that's more sexy and empowering, don't you?"

They were interrupted though, as Tyson stormed out the house with Roxanne screeching at him. The couple watched them, as they finished their arguing, and Tyson stomped down town. Rosaline turned to look at her boyfriend, looking away from the hate next door.

"Come up here and show me you love me" she purred.

Tybalt needed no persuading. He dragged the bin by the wall, and soon found himself crawling into Rosaline's arms. They kissed, and held each other. An hour later, Tybalt sat smoking in Rosaline's bed with her curled up by his side. She was sleeping, her head lying on his chest as he stroked her blonde hair.

"I will marry you someday, you know" he muttered.


	54. The Wrath Of Rosaline

No reviews? I'm all sad and lonely now! Anyway, so, Ros and Tibby are back together. Rosaline and Angelo have made up. Benvolio's made the first steps to getting over Rose. And that leaves Hermia to face Rosaline's wrath.

* * *

><p><em>A few days later...<em>

Hermia did not like wearing dresses.

Sometimes, loose summer dresses were comfy for lounging in the sun, and she liked to wear long tunic tops with leggings, but formal dresses for formal occasions, she did not like.

She was probably the most out of place person at the party. It was a warm summer's day, and it was yet another gathering where the rich people of Verona gathered to revel in their riches and be stuck-up. She and Juliet were both perched at a table. As always, Juliet looked beautiful, and her mother felt the need to show her off.

Hermia had the funniest but most accurate feeling that Lady Capulet and many other nobles did not want her here.

"I wonder if Tybalt's going to be here" said Juliet.

"I hope not" muttered Hermia, knowing he would laugh at her and poke fun of her for wearing a dress.

"There's Mr. Fulgencio" pointed Juliet "Oh my God, just look at Gabriel's outfit! He looks ridiculous! He looks like Dr. Frank-N-Furter!"

"Juliet!" gasped Lady Capulet "How dare you say such a vulgar thing and watch such a vulgar film! Well, I am going to leave you girls here, and go and converse with Lady Lancely. If you do anything, Hermia, and I mean, anything, I will be having words with you later on"

"Rabbit, rabbit" muttered Hermia under her breath as she left.

"Hey, look at Rosaline!" hissed Juliet.

"Where?"

They both turned to gaze at Juliet's cousin. She was with Angelo, and she looked...amazing. She was wearing an ice blue dress, that was sleeveless and almost fell to the floor. She had matching gloves that came up to her elbows. Swarovski diamonds glittered in her ears and around her neck. Her hair tumbled down her back in a thick waterfall of blonde curls. She was stunning.

"Fantastic" grumbled the two girls.

"Daddy's girl" spat Juliet.

"Look who's talking" added Hermia.

"Yeah, but I'm not a cow who hankers after him for cash" replied Juliet "I feel sorry for Gabriel. Look, Angelo's just ignoring him and showing Rosaline off"

Hermia had never really thought about it that way before. Lady Capulet ignored her and showed Juliet off. But she shook the thought aside.

"People wonder why he's so mean, but that's probably why" Juliet went on.

"Forget Gabriel. Where's Tybalt? I wonder what he thinks of this"

"Tybalt's probably getting drunk in one of the back rooms or something" replied Juliet. They continued watching as Angelo and Rosaline talked politely with some rich people, and Gabriel stared into space miserably.

"Maybe I should ask him if he wants to sit with us" said Juliet.

"No! He's a bitch! He's worse than her, I swear. He's a girlfriend stealer"

"Ok, fair enough" shrugged Juliet. They went back to their drinks, but then Rosaline caught sight of them both.

_Finally._ Finally she could show them. She was just as good as them, if not better. Rosaline excused herself from Angelo. He was, as always, impressed with her ladylike manners and hissed something to Gabriel about why didn't he take a leaf out of her book. She and Gabriel weren't as friendly as before, but Rosaline didn't care, since she had Angelo.

"Oh, hello, girls. Mind if intrude upon you?" she asked, sitting down next to her. The two girls blanked her at first.

"I am having a simply splendid time" said Rosaline, spreading cream over a scone "Mingling with charming young men, wearing this lovely outfit, what more could a girl want?"

"An even richer, more powerful boyfriend, which is why Tybalt is not present" retorted Juliet.

Rosaline tutted "Now, now, Juliet. No need to be so envious. You two do not know me very well, do you?"

"I know you well enough" Hermia hissed, rubbing her arm that had been wearing a cast.

"Well, I don't believe you do. I still believe that you think of me as, may I quote, 'a money-grabbing cow' and a 'gold digging hoe'"

"Why wouldn't we?" remarked Hermia.

"You should know by now that what me and Tibby have is genuine" trilled Rosaline delightedly "We know and accept each other's differences. We have, and shall continue to do so, stick together through difficulties. I don't date him for the money or status, because we all know he won't have that for much longer. He isn't an heir, he doesn't have the brains or cunning to make himself rich. But I love him, and that's why we're together. But less of that. Today I am here with my father, who is a part of your upper class. So, since I am now a part of your upper class, since I am dating your cousin, it looks like I'm here to stay"

The girls scowled at her.

"I don't give two hoots about the upper class. Bunch of stuck-up tossers" scoffed Hermia.

"You say you love Tybalt, but you just called him stupid" added Juliet.

"Tybalt calls himself stupid. I did not refer to him as stupid. I simply said he didn't have the cunning to make himself rich. But that doesn't matter, because I'm here to stay. I found out about your little scheme to expose me and ruin my reputation. And I know about your part in it, too, Juliet. My brother is Gabriel. His sweet little boy act doesn't fool me, and so your sweet little girl doesn't fool me either. And if anything, your plan backfired, since we played our cards right, and our relationship is now all out in the open. Angelo is on my side, your parents, well, Juliet's parents, are on my side. So, whether you like it or not, I am here to stay"

"That's good, because I'm about to leave" said Hermia, getting up "Just going to go and talk to some nice Montagues over there. See you later, Juliet"

Juliet and Rosaline glanced at each other. Without Hermia, Juliet always felt nervous around her bitchy older cousin.

"So, my friend," hissed Rosaline, laying a gloved hand on Juliet's arm "We'll be seeing a lot more of each other, where I am your equal, and not even Hermia can look down her nose at me"

"Perhaps if you treated her kindly, then we wouldn't feel the need to" Juliet attempted to snap "You bring it on yourself. You have no right to call her a bastard. You've always been jealous of her because our dad took her in and cared for her from day one, whereas yours waited until you'd grown up"

"And her way of repaying the gratitude is by running around with disgusting animals such as Mercutio Vincentino, who is so inhumane that he torments people like my Tibby's mum, when she's mentally ill? Which is also hypocritical, since he is a walking freak show"

"I don't care about him. It's you who helps alienate her and makes her feel unwelcome in her own family!" Juliet hissed back "She's a Capulet whether you like it or not. She's my sister, and I care about her. And so would Tybalt, if you weren't always whispering poison in his ear"

"Is everything all right over here?" asked Tybalt himself. For the rare occasion, he'd been shoved in a suit, and didn't look very comfortable.

"Perfect, Tibby. Come and sit down" Tybalt sat down next to Rosaline, and she possessively caressed his shoulder whilst smirking at Juliet.

"So, Juliet, has Rosaline told you about the party?" asked Tybalt.

"What party?"

"The end of term party that we're having!" Rosaline finished "We have to keep up our popularity, don't we, Tibby?"

"Of course. We're having a party at your place to celebrate the end of term, the end of exams, and it's going to be fancy dress. We're just sorting out the invitations, and the entertainment for the evening. Gabriel said he's going to sing"

"Lucky us" said Juliet. Hermia came back and sat down.

"It's Tibby! How lovely of you to grace us with your ugly face"

"Shut up, bastard" snarled both Tybalt and Rosaline. Hermia ignored them, even though Juliet knew how much it stung.

"What the hell are you wearing?" sneered Tybalt.

"A potato sack" snickered Rosaline.

"As Gabriel would say, you're supposed to be a Capulet, but you look like you haven't got a pot to piss in" scoffed Tybalt.

"You haven't even bothered to put on any proper make-up. Honestly, you look like you just got out of bed. And why do you wear your hair like that, with that fringe covering your eye? You look stupid" scorned Rosaline.

"I'll look how I want" retorted Hermia "I'll never smear coloured crap all over my face and rub weird cream oil stuff in my hair to make myself look like what is considered pretty amongst a shallow crowd of wannabes to make people like me. As long I have Merc and the boys, I don't need to torture myself with eyelash curlers and tweezers and shit"

"Speaking of Mercutio and your Montague friends, guess what we're going to do" sneered Tybalt.

"We're going to get you for what you did with the DVD" threatened Rosaline.

"I'm waiting with bells on" replied Hermia calmly.

"And I'm going to get Mercutio for helping!" Tybalt added.

"He's waiting with bells on too"

"This isn't the end. Everything might have turned out ok for us, but I'm going to make sure things won't turn out ok for you" Rosaline continued.

"Boohoo" said Hermia, still calmly.

"We know all your weaknesses, and we know exactly how to play it" Rosaline smirked.

"Hey, you do have blonde hair _and _a brain!" Hermia clapped a few times.

Tybalt leant over threateningly "We're going to make sure you're thrown out the Capulet family. Maybe not today, maybe not next week. But we will do it. I'm prepared to pull out all the stops, and so is Rosaline. So you better watch your traitorous back from now on"

"Tybalt!" gasped Juliet. Rosaline just pulled another fake smile at her, and caressed Tybalt's shoulder. He stood up, and offered her his arm. She accepted it, and they walked away calmly.

"Bitch" breathed Juliet. She turned to see Hermia, who, whilst she looked calm and unbothered by their statements, had started to shiver. She pulled her chair closer over to her, and patted her "I'll look after you, Hermy. I won't let them do any of that stuff to you"


	55. Daddy's Girl

iluvshinjimina - No problems! Just glad you're enjoying the story. Anyway, that's exactly why Rosaline's a bitch. She's kind of jealous of Hermia, not that she'd admit it, because they're in similar situations but Hermia's dad took her in and gave her all the opportunities Rosaline wanted but Hermia doesn't care for. And that's exactly what I intended with Tyson and Roxanne!

Oreoskidz - That sucks! I'm like Hermia, not a big fan of make-up. I'm way more into jewellery! I like dresses, but I don't go out of my way to be 'trendy' and 'young' and 'fashionable' like the other girls.

So. Rosaline and Tybalt's love story is finished. It's Romeo and Juliet time! Also, you will see that Gabriel is a big fan of Madonna. So am I. And also, Gabriel's friends Juno, Ceres and Iris may have girl names, but they are guys. I named them after the goddesses in The Tempest when I realised Juno was a girl's name, not gender neutral, and that that was the name of one of the goddesses!

* * *

><p><em>Two months later...<em>

The heat radiated down and oppressively slouched upon the streets of Verona, reflecting from every surface. It rose from the ground to bake the citizens of Verona as they tried to carry about their business. Angelo, Rosaline and Gabriel had all flopped at a table outside of a cafe, unable to move. Gabriel busied himself with a copy of Heat magazine, whereas Rosaline was helping Angelo with some paperwork.

"That's so clever how you worked it out" praised Angelo "Look, Gabriel, isn't she clever?"

"Whatever" grumbled Gabriel, peering up over his magazine. Rosaline glowed with praise.

"You'll do great at Bocconi"

"If I get accepted"

"You will be accepted. I will make sure of it"

"This is boring" muttered Gabriel.

"It's amazing to see someone so young and so driven" Angelo went on.

"Madonna is doing a new album" said Gabriel loudly.

"Be quiet, I don't want to hear you bang on about celebrities" instructed Angelo.

"She's not just any celebrity, she's Madonna! Madonna! The most amazing of the amazing, the Queen of Pop, the..." Gabriel trailed off. They weren't even listening. All Angelo ever seemed to do these days was spend time with Rosaline. She was now a fully fledged daddy's girl. They got on really well, were really similar, and Gabriel was pushed out of the picture. They talked about boring stupid things that Gabriel didn't care about, so it wasn't as if he could join in. Rosaline was becoming less interested in hearing about Gossip Boy, or discussing hair care and current fashions with him. After the fight and subsequent arrest, and Rosaline and Angelo's reconciliation, she appeared to have reinvented herself. No longer was she a goodie two shoes in the chastity club, she was much more of a Femme Fatale. Smart, intelligent, but beautiful and sexual at the same time. She'd returned to school, and brushed off any criticisms or whispers with cool, calculated responses. Her argument was that she said 'long-term commitment' rather than marriage and that she'd never believed in marriage much anyway. It was a smart argument. And with Tybalt by her side, Angelo behind her, and Gabriel occasionally prancing after, no one dared. She was Queen Bee, whether Hermia liked it or not.

The plan to steal Angelo's money was obviously off. A small part of Gabriel was disappointed. Livia had refused to have anything to do with Angelo, and she and Gabriel had began to get to know each other further. Yet Rosaline had had the cheek to tell him that part of the reason he and Angelo did not get on was because Gabriel wouldn't let Angelo care for him!

Sulkily, he pushed a strand of blond hair out of his face, watching as that pathetic excuse of a human being Benvolio Montague was, once again, being beaten up by Tybalt Capulet. Tybalt's mates Sam and Greg had started on Benvolio's friends Adam and Balthasar, Benvolio had tried to break it up, only then Tybalt barged onto the scene. The adults were getting involved. Lord Capulet was cursing and swearing, and Lord Montague was snapping back at him. That annoying peace charity 'The Watch' had got involved. Gabriel just watched Escalus break it up and yell at them, and then went back to his magazine. Tybalt swaggered over.

"Tibby! You look awful! What happened to you?" shrieked Rosaline.

"Benvolio was being his usual whiny self and annoying my mates" grunted Tybalt, sitting down next to her. Concerned, Rosaline straightened his dusty and ripped shirt as best she could.

"You're going to look bad for the party tonight, all scratched up and bruised"

"I don't care. It will make me look tough!" Tybalt thumped the table with a closed fist to prove a point. Angelo frowned at him and Gabriel gloated. That was the one thing Angelo and Rosaline didn't quite see eye to eye on. Her relationship with Tybalt. Apparently, Tybalt wasn't good enough for her. It made Gabriel giggle, really.

"So what are you going as, Gabriel?" asked Tybalt.

"I'm wearing drag"

Angelo tutted and shook his head "You're just asking for trouble, Gabriel. One of these days, you are going to get yourself beaten up"

"Oh, so it's people's fault if they get victimized?" snapped Gabriel "I think I'll tell that to an assualt victim's charity, and see how many votes you lose"

"That's not what I meant. Stop stirring up drama. It's pathetic attention-seeking"

"I am not an attention-seeker!" protested Gabriel. But the three ignored him. Instead, Gabriel began texting his girlfriend. If Angelo wouldn't pay him any attention, then he knew someone who would. At least he and Rose were getting on all right. Gabriel was, as he had always known, a much better boyfriend than Benvolio could have ever hoped to be. He was sensitive, didn't chew with his mouth open, and he didn't leave the toilet seat up.

"What did Escalus say to you about the fighting this time, Tybalt?" asked Angelo.

"Something about banishment and life imprisonment" complained the chav "What am I supposed to do now?"

"What about your schoolwork?" Gabriel remarked.

"School is finished, idiot. That's why we're having an end of term party at my uncle's. I gave you an invite with the details on it, unless you didn't notice. Hermia tried to invite the Montagues, but when we fought about it, my uncle made her compromise on only inviting Mercutio and his brother. I gave Peter a guest list and told him to go and round up people and put an invite up on Facebook. That should do it" replied Tybalt.

"Well, maybe you could take a shower and wash your teeth. It might make people want to come within five metres of you" goaded Gabriel.

"Shut up, you little..."

"Tibby, ignore him. He just wants a reaction. If you give him that, he's won. Same thing for the Montagues" soothed Rosaline.

"Whatever" both boys rolled their eyes.

A few hours later, Gabriel was just putting on the finishing touches to his Madonna outfit. He'd decided to wear it in honour of her new album being on the way. He couldn't wait to see who everyone had dressed up as. He knew Livia, his younger half-sister would be there. He also knew that Juno, Ceres and Iris would be there, as would Lavinia and the rest of his dance class.

Angelo snorted at his choice of costume on the way out the door, so Gabriel gave him the finger, and waltzed off. Funny how Angelo loved seeing his daughter aim for a career in such a male-dominated industry, yet laughed at his son for pursuing a career in a typically female-dominated industry. Hypocrite.

The Capulet Manor was packed. Teenagers teamed from the stairs, the corridors, almost everywhere you could look. Gabriel walked around with Rose on his arm proudly. His friends had welcomed her as his princess. That was certainly how he treated her. As a princess. Rose didn't care about the dancing, although she did get shocked when she saw him in a skirt for the first time the other day. And what he had screamed at some people who'd had the cheek to laugh at him.

"Gabriel, are you going to sing?" asked Juno.

"Oh, I don't know" Gabriel dismissed grandly.

"You must!" cried Ceres, clasping his hands together.

"He has an amazing voice" gushed Iris to Rose, with a hand gesture.

"Just one song, I suppose" Gabriel pretended to sigh reluctantly. The boys gasped in delight. Gabriel's mind flickered through songs, before deciding on his favourite.


	56. Party At The Capulets

Dawnstar94 - Yay! Hope you had a great time.

It's party time! Wonder what Mercutio and the boys have dressed up as...

* * *

><p>"This is a bad idea" Benvolio cried, as he, Beatrix, Mercutio and Romeo staggered down the road in heels.<p>

"No, it isn't!" insisted Mercutio "They'll never guess it's us, Baby Spice"

"Be quiet, Scary!" Benvolio replied "I look terrible"

"He has a point" nodded Romeo.

Beatrix just giggled helplessly at the sight of her brother in her clothes "This is just funny. Too funny!"

"But no one will know!" Mercutio protested "This is a great idea, Sporty, listen to what Posh said"

"We're in drag, dressed as the Spice Girls, about to crash a Capulet party, full of Tybalt's mates who will laugh their arses off when they realize we've stuffed socks down your mum's bras and are wearing enough make-up to paint a wall!" Benvolio exclaimed.

"Are you a Montague or not, Benvolio?" taunted Mercutio.

"I am a Montague!"

"Then you will go to that party, whether you want to or not"

"Come on, Mercutio, he has a point. Anything could go wrong. We could get caught, and we can't exactly run with these heels on" added Romeo "I have a bad feeling about this"

"Whatever! It's too late now. We've managed to walk from my Uncle's place to here. We may as well attend. It'll be a laugh" Mercutio dismissed, tottering down the road.

"You don't understand, I had a dream last night" Romeo tried to explain.

"Yeah, and so did I" retorted Mercutio.

"What was yours?" asked Romeo.

"That dreamers often lie" replied Mercutio.

Romeo laughed "When they are in bed asleep, then they're true!"

"Ha! Then I see Queen Mab have been with you!"

"Who's she?" asked Beatrix and Benvolio.

Mercutio grinned at his sudden increase in attention, and jumped to the front of the group. His eyes widen in ecstasy as he began to chant,

"She's the fairies' midwife. She's no bigger than an agate stone. She rides around in a wagon drawn by tiny little atoms, and she drives over people's noses as they lie sleeping. The spokes of her wagon are made of spider's legs. The cover of her wagon is made of grasshopper's wings. The harnesses are made of the smallest spider webs. And the collars? They are made out of moonbeams. Her whip is a thread attached to a cricket's bone. Her wagon driver is a tiny bug in a gray coat; he's not even half the size of a little round worm that we used to squash down the park. Her chariot is a hazelnut shell. It was made by a carpenter squirrel or an old grub worm. In fairyland, they've made wagons for the fairies as long as anyone can remember. And so in this royal wagon, she rides every night through the brains of Verona's lovers and makes them dream about love. She rides over prep's pyjamas and they dream of Abercrombie and Fitch. She rides over a Popular Girl's lips, and they immediately dream of kisses. Queen Mab often puts blisters on their lips because they taste like that candy lip gloss stuff they use, which makes her mad. Sometimes she rides over an emo's ear and they dream of boring depressing horrible music. Sometimes she blows on a Twilight fan's neck, and she believes Edward Cullen has finally come for her. Sometimes she rides over a chav's head, and they dreams of Burberry and bling, of getting an ASBO, beating people up and of a great big bottle of Stella. And then, one of their five kids starts screaming, and they wake up. They ignore the poor thing and go back to sleep. She is the same Mab who tangles and ruins Gabriel's hair at night and so he goes nuts when he wakes up and realizes he looks like a drag act. Mab is the old hag who gives wet dreams to virgins and teaches them how to hold a lover and bear a child. She's the one-"

"Mercutio! Quit it! You're talking about a load of nonsense" Romeo grabbed his friend as he had begun to wave his arms around, stomping and shouting.

Mercutio sighed, as if he was just remembering where his surroundings were "True. I'm talking about dreams, which are the products of a brain that's doing nothing. Dreams are nothing but silly imagination, as thin as air, and less predictable than the wind, which sometimes blows on the frozen north and then gets angry and blows south"

There was a silence between the three boys and Beatrix, and then Benvolio cleared his throat.

"This weird wind thing you're banging on about his steering us off course. We're going to be late. If," he added as an afterthought "we decide to go at all"

"Well, I have got a bad feeling" said Romeo "But what happens will happen. So let's go in already!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the house, Juliet was zipping up her dress. She was dressed as Taylor Swift, and was wearing a long shimmering white dress with one sleeve, like the one Taylor Swift had worn when she won an award and Kanye West had stormed the stage.<p>

Peering out the window, some of Tybalt's horrible hooligan friends had turned up. She grimaced. She liked Tybalt when he was being himself, but not when Rosaline or his nasty friends were around. They all brought out the worst in her, otherwise cool, older cousin.

These days, it was very difficult to catch Tybalt without his girlfriend. Apparently, he'd invited her to stay at his grandparent's farm in France for the whole of August. How romantic. Not.

The door opened. Juliet gasped, and tried to cover herself.

"It's only us" said her mother, as her nurse waddled in.

"I'm nearly dressed, anyway" said Juliet. Lady Capulet hurried around the room, closing the door to the bathroom and making sure no one was outside.

"What's the matter?"

"Is Hermia still around?" asked Lady Capulet.

"No, she's downstairs"

"Good. We need to talk in secret"

"About what? Hermia can know too, I mean, I'm her sister, we tell each other everything..."

"No! Not at all" cried Lady Capulet "We don't want her involved in this"

"What it is?"

"Have you ever thought about marriage, Juliet?"

Juliet made a face "I'm fourteen"

"Well, never mind. But you won't stay fourteen forever. Are you interested in boys?"

"No! I don't want to talk about this with you, I'd rather talk to someone my own age. Like, Hermia"

Lady Capulet just rolled her eyes "Well, I understand that you have a little crush"

"What?"

Her mother smiled "A little crush. Rosaline told me"

"On who?" asked Juliet.

"Count Paris, Escalus' nephew!" gushed Lady Capulet and the Nurse.

"Ew! Yuck! He's gross! Gabriel says he has three nipples!"

Lady Capulet gasped "Juliet!"

"Gabriel said it, not me!" protested Juliet "I don't fancy him!"

Lady Capulet had grown irritated with her "Well, he's part of the Royal family, and so you had better be polite to him. I don't want you to get a bad reputation. If you mess this up, or embarrass our family, then your father and I will-"

The door barged open, Hermia was tugging Lysander along with her "Oops! Wrong room!"

"Hermia!" snapped Lady Capulet.

"What?"

"Put that boy down!"

"Sorry" said Hermia reluctantly "The guests are all here now. You've got to see this. Three boys have just rolled up in drag dressed as the Spice Girls, and I've told Tybalt he ought to score with one by the end of the night, so Rosaline said I should score with one myself, so I told her that she looked like someone had just thrown up on her. I mean, she's dressed as Britney Spears and Tybalt's dressed as Eminem and they're making out, so distasteful"

"I have to see this!" Juliet cried eagerly. Lady Capulet shook her head disgustedly.


	57. Romeo, Meet Juliet

Dawnstar94 - Mercutio's my favourite character! I was worried I'd butcher the Queen Mab speech, so I'm glad you like it.

iluvshinjimina - I based the it on the 1996 version! I've kind of mashed the two separate parties together, and added some of my version to them. And anyway, in the last chapter, I meant Juliet thinking Tybalt was cool, sorry if I wasn't clear enough.

It's the party! As a note, the song Gabriel sings is one of my favourites. It's called 'Deeper and Deeper' and it's by my favourite singer, Madonna (of course) Feel fre to look it up on YouTube, because it really suits the party and the story.

* * *

><p>"I feel like a twat" said Benvolio "Everyone is looking at us!"<p>

"They're jealous of how sexy we are" replied Mercutio.

"Oh no, there's Rosaline and Tybalt, having their own little party in that chair over there" muttered Romeo.

"Oh my God, I hope he doesn't knock her up. The thought of another Tybalt!" exclaimed Mercutio.

"There's Gabriel. What the fuck is he wearing?" asked Romeo.

"I don't know, but he looks awful" stated Benvolio "Oh...there's Rose. Come on, let's move along. Maybe we could find Hermia, or should I say, Ginger Spice, and we could show her our costumes, and then just get the hell out of here!"

"No! I haven't seen whether or not they really have a golden toilet!" protested Romeo. They boys looked around at the Manor. Mercutio had been before, since he was part of the royal family. Romeo and Benvolio had never even dared to step one foot in the Capulet Manor estate before. It was different to the Montague Ranch, in that it had higher ceilings, large echoing walls, older classical decorations.

But currently, the place was lit up like a Christmas tree. They found Hermia, had a few drinks, and then she begged them to sing 'Wannabe' with her so they did. No one recognised them, apart from maybe Mercutio, as he took the lead vocals and took his top off.

"Hey, Tybalt, if you wannabe my lover, you have to understand, these tits are made of rubber, I'm actually a man!" sang Mercutio, throwing it to the crowd.

The crowd roared with laughter. Tybalt and Rosaline looked like they were going to throw up as Mercutio flexed his body.

"That is not how it's done!" declared Gabriel "I'll show you how to sing"

He'd obviously had a drink, as he was staggering in his heels. He handed the DJ an iPod, and muttered something, before confidently taking the microphone and strutting to middle of the stage. The boys retreated with Hermia and Beatrix to go and get some drinks. Romeo took off the itchy wig and wiped away the make-up. Unfortunately, it was cheap and wouldn't come off, so he left to go and scrub at it in the bathroom.

Gabriel flipped back his hair _"Deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper"_ he sang _"Sweeter and sweeter and sweeter"_

Juliet finally left Paris laughing at Gabriel and went to go and find some place to hide from him, or Rosaline to yell at for inviting him, or better, Hermia to get rid of him for her.

_"I can't help falling in love. I fall deeper and deeper the further I go. Kisses sent from heaven above. They get sweeter and sweeter the more that I know"_

Tybalt pulled Rosaline up to dance with him. Even as they laughed and danced together, he was watching over his shoulder at Mercutio and the boys in drag. He hated them already, and he had a sneaking suspicion of who they were.

_"When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything. That's what my mama told me. Round and round and round you go. When you find love you'll always know. I let my father mould me"_

Romeo entered the room in time to see Gabriel start to dance. The crowd cheered him. Gabriel glowed with rapture. His cousin Beatrix appeared to have met up with her crush, David. Tybalt and Rosaline were dancing together, even though Tybalt was glaring at someone. He wanted someone to love like that. If someone could love someone as disgusting and unhygienic as Tybalt, then they could love him too.

_"Daddy couldn't be all wrong? (Not gonna let you slip away, I'm gonna be there) And my mama made me learn this song (You're gonna bring your love to me, I'm gonna get you) That's why..."_

Finally, Juliet rested behind a pillar. Paris couldn't see her, but she could keep everyone and everything in sight. Her eyes flickered over the crowd, and soon they nestled on a tanned boy with soulful chocolate brown eyes and floppy chocolate brown hair falling into those eyes. He was one of the boys who'd sang 'Wannabe' since he'd been wearing a dress. But that didn't put Juliet off at all. He looked...cute.

_"I can't help falling in love. I fall deeper and deeper the further I go. Kisses sent from heaven above. They get sweeter and sweeter the more that I know"_

Romeo's eyes scanned the room, looking for his friends. At first, he spotted a girl who looked like Hermia, but not quite. She was taller, elegant, and a lot more feminine. Her long ginger hair cascaded down her back like a fiery waterfall, and her eyes were a sky blue, not a sparkly green. She was dressed in an amazing sparkly white gown, floor length and with one sleeve. Immediately, Romeo was smitten. He had no idea who she was or why she looked like Hermia, but she was stunning, simply beautiful, and he knew that once again he was in love.

"Have I ever loved before?" he whispered, starting to creep forwards in wonder.

_"The deeper I go"_ Gabriel sang dramatically, reaching a lower note _"'All is fair in love,' she said, 'Think with your heart, not with your head' That's what my mama told me 'All the little things you do, will end up coming back to you' I let my father mould me"_

Romeo walked on, in a trance, past Tybalt, whispering to himself about the beautiful girl. Tybalt did a double take, scowled, and then turned to hiss at Rosaline "That's Romeo Montague, isn't it? Did you hear his voice? It was that same whiny little moan"

Rosaline turned to look, and then she grabbed him "So it is. Tibby, don't start anything, you heard the prince this morning. I don't want you to get in anymore trouble, I want you safe!"

"Shut up! I'll fight who I want! I'm telling my Uncle Egues. Hey! Petruchio! Go and get my baseball bat!"

_"Daddy couldn't be all wrong? (Not gonna let you slip away, I'm gonna be there) And my mama made me learn this song (You're gonna bring your love to me, I'm gonna get you) That's why..."_

Finally, Romeo was paces away from the girl. He circled around, he didn't want her to see him, not yet. She seemed to have caught his eye as well, and Romeo's heart pounded with excitement. Standing behind her, he reached for her hand...

_"I can't help falling in love. I fall deeper and deeper the further I go. Kisses sent from heaven above. They get sweeter and sweeter the more that I know"_

Juliet froze, and turned as she felt her hand become wrapped in another. It was the boy she'd seen earlier. He was watching her with a kind of sweet, anticipating smile.

She smiled back "Hello"

_"I can't help falling in love. I fall deeper and deeper the further I go. Kisses sent from heaven above. They get sweeter and sweeter the more that I know"_

"Sorry" Romeo managed to stutter out "I just wanted to hold your hand. I saw you across the room. You look beautiful in that dress"

"And so do you" Juliet replied, with a mischievous smile. She liked him. He seemed cute, maybe even a little naive. She wanted to get to know him. Maybe she'd finally found the one. Maybe this was true love!

_"Someone said that romance was dead. And I believed it instead of remembering. What my mama told me. Let my father mould me. Then you tried to hold me. You remind me what they said. This feeling inside, I can't explain. But my love is alive. And I'm never gonna hide it again!"_

Tybalt was filled with a burning rage. His face turned purple. A vein in his forehead beat faster, and sweat dripped off his body. He let go of Rosaline, amidst her shrieks of 'Tibby!' and stormed over to his Uncle.

"Uncle Egues!" hissed Tybalt "Quick!"

Lord Capulet turned around, a glass in hand. He clasped an arm around Tybalt's shoulders in a fatherly fashion "What are you so angry about? Aren't you enjoying yourself?"

"There. Is. A. Montague. In. Our. House!" breathed Tybalt, barely containing his fury.

_"Daddy couldn't be all wrong? (Not gonna let you slip away, I'm gonna be there) And my mama made me learn this song (You're gonna bring your love to me, I'm gonna get you) That's why..."_

"Which one? Mercutio? Oh, he's not a Montague. I know he's here" dismissed Lord Capulet, waving the hand that held the glass of wine carelessly.

"No!" Tybalt almost roared, but contained himself as he was talking to his favourite uncle "It's Romeo. The one who used to sexually harass Rosaline! I bet he's here to spy on us. This time, I'm going to punch his face in. He won't get away with this, fucking arsehole!"

_"I can't help falling in love. I fall deeper and deeper the further I go. Kisses sent from heaven above. They get sweeter and sweeter the more that I know"_

"Pack it in, Tybalt!" hissed Lord Capulet, letting go of him "I know he's a gobby little shit, but you heard what Escalus said. I don't want you getting in any trouble. And look, he's wearing a dress. If he starts acting up, who's going to take him seriously? You can laugh about it tomorrow"

"That isn't fair! Dress or no dress, he's a Montague, and Montague's get away with fucking murder! He made my mother have a mental breakdown. If he touches either my mum or Rosaline, I'll smash his skull in!" snarled Tybalt, stomping his feet as he did so.

"Be quiet!" snapped Lord Capulet "Or I'll make you quiet! Shall I send you to your bed like a little boy?"

"I'm not a little boy!" hissed Tybalt.

Lord Capulet glared at him "Go upstairs, and calm down. Now"

Tybalt seethed with rage, and stormed off. Romeo might be having fun now, but by God would he regret it in the morning. Rosaline watched him storm away, and then quickly ran after him to try and pacify him.

_"Deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper. Never gonna hide it again. Sweeter and sweeter and sweeter and sweeter. Never gonna have to pretend!"_

"Come on, Benvolio!" Mercutio yelled "Do a twirl, you sexy beast!"

Benvolio self-consciously swirled around, and then laughed along as Mercutio twirled Hermia under his other arm. People turned and watched, but Mercutio pulled them closer and shook his 'booty'

"Looks like Gabriel's the new Madonna!" Hermia shouted as the crowds cheered him for the final verse.

_"You got to just, let your body, move to the music. You got to just, let your body, go with the flow. Falling in love, falling in love, falling in love. I can't, keep, from falling in love with you. You know there's nothing better that I'd like to do"_ finished Gabriel, panting for breath.

The applause thundered. He smiled, emerging from the trance that always took over him as he performed. This was where he belonged. On stage, making people happy.

"Thank you" beamed Gabriel "Thank you. That was for my girlfriend, Rose, as a thank you for her support and encouragement over the past couple of months"

But meanwhile, Romeo and Juliet broke apart from the kiss they had been sharing.

"Juliet!" yelled the nurse "Juliet, your mother wants to talk to you!"

Juliet felt herself being pulled forwards by her nurse. She turned and smiled at the mysterious boy as she left.

"Nurse, who was that?" she asked, as they passed through the crowds.

"Who?"

"The boy in the dress"

"That's Gabriel Fulgencio"

"Yes, I know him" sighed Juliet irritated, watching as Gabriel signed a piece of paper and handed it to a girl "I meant the one with brown hair and the cute butt..."

"Over there?"

"Yes"

The nurse sighed reluctantly "His name is Romeo. Lord Montague's son!"

"Oh shit!" muttered Juliet "I've fallen in love with someone I'm supposed to hate!"

Meanwhile, Romeo turned and tapped one of Tybalt's mates on the shoulder. He wasn't a close mate, otherwise he wouldn't have dared.

"Who's that girl over there, with the frumpy old lady?"

The chav belched "That's Tybalt's cousin, Juliet, innit"


	58. Slow Down!

Dawnstar94 - Thanks! Even I don't get the Queen Mab speech sometimes.

The star-crossed lovers have met! Which means we are near the end of this story. Still got a couple of chapters to go though. But what slows them down to make them wait a year until Child Swap? Something or someone not in the original R+J?

* * *

><p>"Mercutio! Mercutio! We have to go!" cried Benvolio "Tybalt caught Romeo! And then he caught me! He's ripped off my skirt and I've only got these boxers...we have to get out of here!"<p>

"Benny...you look seeexxxxxyyyyy!" sang Mercutio drunkenly.

"Stop it, stop it!" Benvolio pulled at his scruffy hair "We need to run, now!"

"You're sexy and you know it!"

"No! Come on, let's go! We're going back to crash at yours, right? And make smores?"

"Bye, guys" said Hermia. She kissed Benvolio on the forehead and then did the same to Mercutio.

"We better go round up Woo woo" said Mercutio "Come along now!"

The two boys ran out the Manor. Beatrix had gone home with her girlfriends so Benvolio didn't have to worry about her.

"Romeo!" shouted Benvolio "Romeo! We're going home! Call him, Mercutio!"

"ROMEO! ROMEO! IT'S TIME TO GO...HOMEO!"

Mercutio burst into a fit of giggles at his own joke. Benvolio couldn't help but laugh, despite being petrified of being caught without trousers. He pulled off the heels, resolving to walk home barefoot.

"Where is he?" frowned Mercutio.

"He ran this way, over the orchard walls. Call him again, you're louder than me"

"I swear he's bothering Rosaline again. You know how lousy he is when it comes to bros before hoes. That's probably why Tybalt caught him"

"We don't have time to worry about that"

"She torments him. He's going to go mad" decided Mercutio "Romeo, I hereby summon you by Rosaline's sexy bum, her waxed legs, plucked eyebrows, fake nails, breast implants, and her shaven puss-"

"Mercutio!" was Benvolio's scandalous cry "He'll go nuts!"

"Come on, let's go home. Romeo will find his way back to us. He's probably forgotten we were going back to mine, and gone back to his. Nightie night, Woo woo!"

Romeo, meanwhile, sat on top of the orchard wall.

"Hmmph! He's laughing at stuff he couldn't even begin to understand!"

Then he jumped down into the Capulet's orchard. He crept through the trees, getting closer and closer to the house as he dared. The lights were on above a room with a balcony. This must be where all the bedrooms where. He watched two figures pass through the light.

"How dare he treat me like that!" roared Tybalt. There was a smash.

"Tibby, Tibby, pack it in. Calm down. It's all right" soothed Rosaline.

"No, it bloody well isn't all right. There. Was. A. Montague. In. Our. House!" hissed Tybalt.

"Ssh, ssh, calm down. What the Montagues want is a reaction. And if you give it to them, then they've won. Calm down. You know you are the better person"

"I'm going to kill Romeo!" yelled Tybalt.

Romeo grimaced, as he heard another smash as Tybalt threw something out the window. It shattered a few metres away from him. Rosaline shrieked, and then there was the sound of thumps as she presumably restrained him. Romeo hurried along the house, getting away from the shouting. Their angry voices faded. He saw a figure pass through the light, heading towards where Tybalt and Rosaline stood.

"Juliet?" whispered Romeo excitedly.

Then he heard loud, confident singing "Just gonna stand there, and watch me burn, but that's all right, because I love the way you lie. Love the way you lie"

"Shut up, Hermia, you traitorous bastard!" roared Tybalt, louder than ever.

"Hermia" mumbled Romeo disappointedly.

"Tybalt! Give it a rest, you animal!" yelled Lord Capulet.

"Shut up, Uncle Egues!"

The figure disappeared, and then there was a rustle, and suddenly, there was his beloved Juliet standing out on the balcony. She had taken off most of her costume, and was dressed in just a simple dress. Her hair was loose, and fluttered about in the warm summer's breeze.

"She's beautiful" whispered Romeo to himself. He willed her to speak.

"Oh, why me? Why him?" she sighed. She leant her cheek on her hand.

"I wish I was glove on that hand...so I could touch that cheek!" Romeo murmured.

"Why a Montague? Of all the people in this world, why did I have to fall in love with a Montague?"

"She loves me! Speak again, sweet angel!"

"What even is a Montague? Is it a hand or a foot? A birth certificate? Nature, or nurture? If he was a rose, he would still smell as sweet if he was called...called...Tybalt's skanky aftershave!"

Romeo snorted. He couldn't help it. So it seemed his new love had a wonderful sense of humour!

"Why is he called a Montague?" groaned Juliet softly.

Romeo sprang into the light "Call me your love, and I'll never be a Montague again!"

Juliet shrieked, and gasped. She looked down, into those beautiful soulful brown eyes.

"What are you doing here? If Tybalt catches you, you're dead!"

"I am not afraid of Tybalt!" cried Romeo "He's just a stupid chav who thinks he's so hard when actually everyone knows he still calls him mum, mummy"

Juliet giggled "He does! He does!" She stopped laughing, and Romeo was almost disappointed. She had a lovely laugh, a sweet innocent tinkling laugh that was like music to him.

"Oh, Romeo. Are you a Montague?" although she knew it was true.

"Not if you don't want me to be"

"But you are, aren't you?"

"Yes" sighed Romeo regretfully.

"And how the hell did you even get in here? Not even Hermia can climb over the orchard walls, they're so high!"

"I flew on the wings of love!"

Juliet smiled fondly, and blushed. Call her a stupid and naive little girl, as Rosaline so frequently did, but Juliet loved romantic gestures. It made her flutter on the inside. It was a good feeling, one she couldn't seem to get sick of.

"How did you find my bedroom? How did you know where I'd be?" Juliet teased.

"Well...I assumed that such a sweet girl wouldn't be staying in the room where there was shouting and smashing, so I followed the call of love to this elegant balcony, and I found you!"

Juliet sighed, her face in her hands. She wanted to melt, listening to such sweet sentiments, but her mind turned to some of the silly teenage magazines she had poured over. They always told girls not to make boys think they were fast and loose. Hermia had told her to ignore them, said they were stupid and unrealistic, and you should follow your instincts.

"I know you must think I'm fast, but trust me, I'm not" Juliet warned "You heard me saying how I loved you a few moments ago, and so I won't lie. I love you. When I looked at you, I swear I'd known you forever. You had such an innocent loving smile, and you still do. Please don't think badly of me for saying I have fallen in love with you, so fast and so quickly"

"No, you aren't too fast, at all! I hold you in high respect. You're Hermia's..."

"Half-sister" replied Juliet "She's my half-sister"

Romeo didn't want to make a comment on the dysfunctions of the Capulet family.

"I wouldn't mess with you. I'm not that kind of guy. I just want to find love, and to be loved in return"

"You are loved in return" Juliet graced him with a smile "Can you climb up here?"

Romeo yanked off the silly heels, and clung to some ivy. He clamoured over a window frame, and Juliet grasped his hands when he grew near. She felt so gentle, so soft. They stood before each other, and looked at one another. Romeo bent down and began to kiss her. They made out for well over five minutes, reaching onto ten, until Juliet broke away for some air.

"It's late, we should be heading to bed"

"Will you leave me now, so soon?"

"What more could we do?"

"A true promise of love"

"I love you" replied Juliet.

"And I love-"

"Juliet!" called a voice.

"It's my nurse" said Juliet urgently. She hurried inside for a moment, and Romeo heard her shouting something. Then she hurried back out. They kissed, as if she'd been gone for a year, not a minute.

"How can I make you a true pledge of love?" asked Romeo.

Juliet clasped his hands "We'll make a vow"

"Like...marriage?" whispered Romeo.

"You could call it that"

"You'll be my wife, and I'll be your husband?"

"Yes" Juliet whispered excitedly. The two gazed at each other delightedly for a while, until...

"Whoa! Whoa! Slow the hell down, man!"


	59. Speaking Sense

Dawnstar94 - Ha! How'd you guess? And as for life in England...well, the sun is shining, so that's something I ought to go and marvel at.

So, we have reached chapter 60. I thought this story would be smaller than my other ones, being only 50 chapters or so. I think I have about 5 to go. Well, last we saw Romeo and Juliet they were planning to get hitched. So who stopped them?

* * *

><p>"Hermia!" gasped the couple.<p>

"You're trying to get married!" exclaimed the girl "You've only known each other for an hour! Now, I've done some pretty outrageous stuff, I mean, skinny dipping with Mercutio in his dad's pool, and the thing with Tybalt and Rosaline and the DVD, but getting married? When you haven't even known each other for, what, an hour? You're nuts!"

Romeo and Juliet just stared at her.

"We're in love!" they finally protested.

"I love Lysander, yet I'm not flying him off to Vegas for a quickie wedding! How the hell do you even plan to get married, anyway? You're underage, you don't have parental permission, you haven't posted any banns, and you don't have any witnesses"

"Obstacles such as those are easily thwarted when one is in love!" Romeo cried.

Hermia just rolled her eyes "This is ridiculous. Juliet's just another one of your infatuations, isn't she?"

"No!" Romeo cried again.

"Stop trying to ruin this for me, Hermia! I wouldn't care if you fell in love with someone you shouldn't!" said Juliet.

"That's not the issue. I don't care if you want to see each other. It's not my problem who you date. I'll even help you sneak out to see him. I hate to quote our favourite hoebag Rosaline, but we must all make our choices and if they happen to go wrong, it's a learning experience. But I refuse to let you marry him. This boy, was obsessed with Rosaline. He claimed he was 'in love' with her for months and-"

"She sprung me on!" Romeo insisted "She kept sending me wrong signals!"

"Pull the other one, Romeo" snorted Hermia "Let's see what Mercutio and Benvolio think about this. I'll call them now, shall I?"

"No! Mercutio's got even stricter on the 'Bros before hoes' rule and Benvolio's still trying to get over Rose and it would be like slapping him in the face!" said Romeo.

"Well then!" said Hermia "And have you even thought about what would happen after you marry? Where you'd live? If you'd have kids? Because if our families found out, they would go nuts and probably chuck you out if you want to be together so much. As for you, Juliet, have you thought about what you'll say to Tybalt? You know what he's like. And as for you, Romeo, have you thought about how much Tybalt's going to beat you up for this? I hope you've got some body armour at home!"

"I wouldn't fight him, I'd tell him that we were family now!"

"Yeah, like he's going to listen to that! Anyone without the word Capulet on their birth certificate is a potential enemy as far as he's concerned"

"What about Rosaline?" asked Juliet.

"Oh, well, she's grown up with us so she thinks and acts like a Capulet anyway. And stop trying to change the subject. You two can't get married!"

"Hermia, this isn't fair. I thought you'd support us" said Juliet disappointedly.

Hermia grew calmer "I do support you. If you want to see each other, I'm fine with that. I think it's nice that someone actually returns Romeo's affections for once, especially considering how devoted he is when he is 'in love' But be rational here. You've only known each other for an hour, and you want to marry. That's stupid. Why be tied down so young? Why not have some fun, go on dates, get to know each other a bit better. I'd help you sneak out, I'd do even crazier, naughtier things so you stay off Eugene and Tybalt's radars. I know how much you've wanted someone to get out of the house with"

The couple were silenced for a while.

"She does have a point" admitted Romeo.

"JULIET!" hollered the nurse.

"Great" muttered Juliet.

"We'll have to go in a minute. Just talk it over. We'll go out tomorrow and meet up, then I'll kick off and you can get to know each other better then" said Hermia, retreating inside.

Romeo caressed Juliet's cheek.

"She's right, you know"

"I know"

"I should head home. I'll see you tomorrow morning, but I won't sleep because I'll thinking about you. And if I do sleep, then I'll be dreaming of you"

"Such sweet words!" crooned Juliet.

Romeo clamoured over the edge of the balcony, but then stopped, realising his dress was constricting his movement "Don't suppose you have any guy clothes I could borrow?"

"Well, Tybalt usually keeps some things here. I could always borrow some of his stuff"

"Yeah, I think I'll just stick with the dress, but, er, thanks anyway"


	60. The Prince And Princess Of Cats

Dawnstar94 - Lol, I thought that would be a bit of a giveaway! Enjoy your rain, I'm enjoying my sun.

Oreoskidz - Sod that, I get annoyed when I see Hermia and Lysander together! I'm all like, 'What about Benvolio?' I was watching the 1996 version and kept expecting to see Tybalt in an Eminem costume and ALL the boys in drag!

Whoo, go Hermia! Save your half-sister and future brother-in-law's life! Back to Tybalt and Rosaline. He's yet to be sorted out. Can Rosaline help stop the tragedy?

* * *

><p>Lying in the middle of the debris from their row, a sun ray hit Rosaline's make-up smeared face. She rubbed her eyes, and sat up, looking around. A window was open. A few shards of a vase rested on the sill. A curtain rail had been yanked down. The wardrobe door was hanging on its hinges. Some of their clothes were draped across the room. The bedside table was lying on its side with a leg missing off where Tybalt had kicked it in anger.<p>

He'd gone crazy last night. Rosaline hadn't seen him get so mad in months. She had been soothing him and stroking his brow, yet he just would not calm. Briefly, she wondered if she was a calming influence off on him, but shook it off. After all, she hadn't been able to soothe him last night. Her uncle had had to help her restrain him as he attempted to storm around smashing things, whilst his mum had been freaking out. Hermia had just helped to wind him up further by singing that stupid song, and Juliet was goodness knows where.

But finally, Tybalt collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. Rosaline lay next to him, and stroked his hair as he slept. She was worried about him. If this didn't stop, something bad would happen to him. If he didn't learn to control his temper, if he didn't stop going over the top, if he didn't stop fighting, he could be seriously hurt. Or worse, killed.

Rosaline glanced over to where he was supposed to be sleeping, but found the bed empty. The duvet was rumpled from and the pillows were strewn over the floor. Panicking, Rosaline forced her eyes wide open and looked around her room. She was relieved to see him getting dressed silently at the foot of their bed.

"What are you doing? It's six am" snapped Rosaline, sitting up.

"Going out, where do you think?" Tybalt snarled back.

"To do what?"

"Find that Montague, and smash his fucking head in!"

"For God's sake, Tybalt! We went through this last night. You're going to get yourself killed one day!" cried Rosaline.

"Oh, yeah, because Benvolio carries a knife in his pocket, and Romeo has a gun. Of course those Montague cry babies aren't going to kill me!"

"No! I just meant, you take things too far. Look at the room. And then look outside. Look what you've done!"

"And? I've punched a hole in a wall before. This is nothing"

"You scare me" admitted Rosaline "I'm not scared of what you'll do to me, because I know you wouldn't. I'm scared of what you'll do to yourself and others around you. I'm scared of what they'll do to you someday. Sometimes it's like you're spinning out of control and there's no holding onto you"

"You said you liked me being out of control. You said it thrilled you"

"I know, it does, but it doesn't! Tybalt, please, listen to what I have to say. Don't go looking for Romeo. No good will ever come of it. I know he's not exactly tough, but it's not necessary! I mean, yes, he crashed the party with his buddies, but he didn't do anything wrong besides embarrass himself. We can get him back later. We can do something much more fun, like put a picture of him in the dress on the internet and mail it to his parents. Remember what Gabriel says. Use your brain, not your fists!"

"As if I'll ever copy that coward!" snapped Tybalt "I said I'd fight who I wanted, when I wanted. I've already messaged Romeo on Facebook, telling him I want to see him. And no one, not you, not mum, not Uncle Egues, is going to stop me"

He started to head towards the door, but Rosaline jumped up and blocked his way. She forced him back down onto the bed.

"What are you doing?" demanded Tybalt, struggling "Get off me!"

"I'm stopping you from going out. You'll have to get past me before you can go out. So make me move"

Rosaline leant against the door. Tybalt just glared at her.

"Go on then! Pick me up and throw me out your way"

"I can't"

"Why not? You said no one would ever stop you fighting"

"I'd never hurt you"

"But you said nothing would stop you from fighting, not even me"

"And I said I'd never hurt you!" Tybalt yelled.

"Well, do you know how much it hurts when I see you fight, when I see you hurt, when I worry and worry and worry that this will be the time you get killed? Sure, it used to be fun, seeing you strut your stuff, but I've realised this. You don't have nine lives. If you don't stop and control yourself, then you'll be killed. And if you get killed, then I'll..." Rosaline stopped to break down in tears.

Tybalt watched her, perplexed. Damn, they really did have deep feelings for each other. No one had ever gone this far before. No one had ever admitted to caring this much about him.

"Then I'll...then I'll never speak to you again! I'll never forgive you!"

He got up, slowly, and picked her up. At first she flinched, expecting him to shove her aside, but he held on tightly. They held each other for a few moments.

Finally, he murmured those words she wanted to hear "I won't go looking for Romeo. Not if you don't want me too"

Rosaline let out another sob, and held onto him tightly.

"But I can't promise you I'll never fight again. You don't know what it's like. I get this...this boiling bubbling feeling, then everything goes red and I've done something bad. And then once I've done it, why stop? I can't back down, I can't get out of bad situations"

Rosaline ran her fingers through his hair "I know, Tibby. It's not your fault. I understand, Tibby. You can tell me. Let me calm you down"

"It'll never be one rosy romance when you're seeing me" said Tybalt "I'm not some romantic hero. I'm not going to transform myself because I have fallen in love. This is real life. It takes more than that. I expect you know that by now. I'm violent. I shout. I yell, and I break stuff"

They looked over the room.

"But you're different. You stand up to me. I'm still not used to that. It's weird. It's different. But it's good"

"So that's my secret" sniffed Rosaline "People still haven't worked out what the attraction is. They says it's my tits"

"Don't be stupid" Tybalt kissed her on her forehead, her nose, cheeks, and lips. Rosaline clasped his cheeks in her hands, and then straightened the collar of the shirt he'd worn to sleep "People might think we're shallow, and I know people say you want me for my cash and I want you for your tits, but they just don't get it, do they?"

"No" Rosaline shook her blonde curls, stroking his stubbly cheek "I wish we could get out of here sometimes"

"We could"

"Could we? Where? For a day, right?"

"No, the summer. The invitation to my grandparent's place in France still stands. I could book us flights. If we pack fast, we could even get out of here today. What do you reckon?"

"And just run off? But what about my exam results?"

"We'll come back for those. What do you think?"

"I'll have to ask my mum. Perhaps we should clean up in here so that she doesn't freak out about you being a crazy aggressive psychopath or something"

"There's worse on the Burry Estate"

"True. Come on, let's sort this place out first. And then we'll just go. Just...go"

Little had Rosaline known, she'd just saved his life. The Prince and Princess of Cats departed a few hours later, leaving the star-crossed lovers well alone.


	61. Nursie!

Dawnstar94 - Uh oh! Remind me not to come to Texas on vacation!

Go Rosaline and Hermia! See, all it takes is the persuation from two strong females to stop a tragedy. Now, let's go and see what Merc and Benny are up too. Oh, and I've been continuing work on my sequel to ALYN. I have found some inspiration and think it's going good so far. I believe that this is the third to last chapter to this story, so keep checking my fanfiction page, and I also have a deviantart where I post pictures of the characters and more details. I should make a facebook page for the Child Swap series.

* * *

><p>"So where is Woo woo?" asked Mercutio, as he and Benvolio sat eating a packet of crisps together. They gazed out at Verona from where they sat up in a tree in Verona's park "Did he go home last night?"<p>

"Yeah, I rung my Uncle Claudio this morning and he said Romeo wandered home at three am" Benvolio rolled his eyes fondly.

"Wonder where he was"

"Doing whatever Romeo's do best" said Benvolio, rolling his eyes again. He and Mercutio answered together.

"Girl-hunting!"

"Typical" Mercutio lounged back, balancing on another branch. Benvolio watched him worriedly, feeling the tree shake a little.

"Guess what else" said Benvolio.

"What?"

"Tybalt sent him a message on Facebook"

"Anyone can send messages on Facebook" said Mercutio "I'll send you one if you want"

"No, but you should see it! Romeo posted it to his wall. It's hilarious, he can't even spell Montague! He wrote it like M-O-N-T-E-R-G-O-O. And he spelt Romeo's name like R-O-W-M-I-O, your name like M-E-R-C-U-S-H-Y-O and my name B-E-N-V-O-L-L-Y-O. He didn't put any apostrophes in the right places, didn't use capital letters, and just made spelling mistakes the whole way through! I'm amazed they even let him stay in school"

Mercutio snorted, and started fiddling with his iphone to look at Romeo's wall. Benvolio finished off the crisps, and smoothened out the packet. After Mercutio giggled at Tybalt's failed attempts to spell, he pocketed his phone, and they both jumped down.

"I hope Tybalt doesn't try to fight Romeo like he says he will in the message" added Benvolio, as they headed out of the shade of the tree.

"Well, I hope Romeo messages him back telling him he's ready and waiting for this little fight. We'll go to the Joke Shop and get some silly string that we can spray on him to wind him up"

"Speaking of which...here comes Romeo!" said Benvolio, pointing. Romeo ran happily over to his friends.

"I believe someone owes us an explanation!" coughed Mercutio, leaning with his arm on Benvolio's shoulders. Benvolio crossed his arm and nodded smugly.

"For what?" asked Romeo.

"Abandoning us!" Mercutio cried dramatically, pretending to cry.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Wooshy-wo. I hope you aren't mentally scarred by the experience" replied Romeo. Some more of their friends, such as Adam and Balthasar, had gathered around.

Mercutio half-hugged, half-climbed on Romeo "I'm devastated! I'll never be the same again! I need counselling!"

"Hey, looks like our favourite crazy mental spaz has admitted he has a problem!" teased Benvolio.

Mercutio pulled a crazy face, his tongue drooling, and his eyes bulging, at Benvolio, who simply giggled at him. The boys tussled and messed around for a bit, until they collapsed on the park fence. They chatted about the party, until Mercutio suddenly poked both Romeo and Benvolio and pointed.

"See that sexy beast over there!" he shrieked. The two other boys looked over, and so did their friends, to see Juliet's nurse waddling over to them, with one of Tybalt's mates.

"Oh my God, what is she wearing? She looks like a great big sail!" snorted Romeo.

The boys glanced among each other.

"A sail, a sail!" they jeered, and pretended to move like the sail of a ship, swaying from side to side. The nurse was not put off, and then stood in front of them.

"Peter, have you got my fan?"

"Good boy, Peter, to hide her face. Because that fan is way more attractive than her face!" announced Mercutio. The boys roared with laughter as Peter handed over her fan. She turned to the boys, fanning herself.

"Good morning, young men"

"Good afternoon, old lady" said Mercutio.

"Is it that late?"

"Yep" said Mercutio "Because the naughty, naughty hand of the clock dial is now on the prick of noon!"

And with that, he reached over and grabbed Benvolio's crotch. Benvolio, of course, screamed and fell over off the wall. Mercutio cackled evilly.

"Don't ever molest me ever again!" yelled Benvolio. The rest of the boys oohed and laughed at them. The nurse sighed irritated. She turned back to the group.

"I am looking for a young lady called Hermia. Have you seen her? I know she hangs around with you"

"I don't know any ladies called Hermia" Mercutio continued "I know a Lad You Can Shag called Hermia though"

"How dare you!" hissed the nurse "What kind of boy are you?"

"A sexy beast" replied Romeo.

The nurse fumed "Well, if you can't tell me where to find Hermia, which one of you is Lysander?"

"Oooh, Lysander!" teased Mercutio. The other boys collapsed into catcalls and calls of his names. Mercutio wolf-whistled. Turning red, Lysander stood up.

"I'm Lysander"

"I need to speak to you" said the nurse firmly.

"OOOH!" jeered the boys, led by Mercutio. Some of the boys batted Lysander with the backs of their hands, whistling even more, as he made his way over to talk to the nurse.

"I think she's taking him out for dinner!" Benvolio whispered loudly. Mercutio sniggered, loving the rare moment Benvolio let his prudish hair down.

"A cougar! A cougar!" Mercutio whispered to the rest of the boys. Then he hushed them, and listened as the nurse muttered to Lysander. Lysander was turning even redder.

"...left these on her bedroom floor..." she handed him a scrap of material. Mercutio's eyes bulged right out of their sockets.

"Lysander nailed the nurse!" he yelled. The boys cheered, and Mercutio started to dance around the nurse, singing "Lysander nailed the nurse! Lysander nailed the nurse! Lysander is a stud!"

The other boys got up, cheering. Romeo clapped his hands on Mercutio's shoulders, and then Benvolio clapped his on Romeo's shoulders, and the rest of the boys formed a conga line, led by Mercutio. They paraded in a circle, chanting "Lysander nailed the nurse! Lysander nailed the nurse!"

"Oooh, I'm telling Hermia you cheated on her!" Mercutio catcalled.

"You stop that!" the nurse bellowed in anger "I won't have you boys messing with my girls! And if you see, Hermia, you can tell her that Lord Capulet is looking for her, and she's in trouble! Big trouble!"

The boys hurried away, and Lysander held out the underwear.

"Um...these aren't mine"

"What do you mean? They were on Hermia's bedroom floor after last night's party!"

"These are Tybalt's. Hermia was going to put them in the tree this morning to wind him up"


	62. No Tragedies Today

Dawnstar94 - Heehee! It was a picture I found on deviantart that inspired that.

anon (who I suspect is Oreoskidz) - LOL one of my pals reckon that all of the characters from AMND should all just get together and have a great big orgy since they all love each other and stuff.

So, the second to last chapter (if I decide to split tomorrow's chapter in two) Merc and Benny are out and about. The bit with the scarf is from the 1968 film version because it was so funny and how could I not use it?

* * *

><p>"Blah, blah, blah!" babbled Mercutio, underneath a large silk scarf he had brought out with him "Blah, blah, blah!"<p>

"Mercutio, let's go inside" whined Benvolio.

"Bloh, bloh, bloh" answered Mercutio.

"It's boiling!" complained Benvolio, fanning himself.

"Blah, bloh, blah, bloh!"

"I heard the Capulets are out"

"Huh" snorted Mercutio.

"And if we meet up with them, we're sure to get into a fight"

"Whatever, Benvolio! I know you like fighting just as much as the next guy. Two words. Gabriel Fulgencio!"

Pink flared in Benvolio's cheeks "Yes, but that's because he's evil. He's a bitch!"

"And you get mad at Beatrix about Twilight. Didn't you rip down her poster of Edward Cullen the other day and scream at her it's not real? And didn't you throw her books out the window?"

"That was an accident. They were on the window sill, my hand just so happened to slip! I never..."

Mercutio playfully shoved Benvolio across Verona's square.

"And you and your dad had a row the other day, something about his girlfriends again. You didn't like Melanie very much, did you?"

"I never like his girlfriends! He just doesn't listen when I try to tell him that!"

"Benvolio likes fighting! Benvolio likes fighting!"

"I hate fighting! I always lose"

"You beat Gabe the Babe up"

"Gabe the what?"

"Gabe the Babe" repeated Mercutio "It's my new name for him. I thought some others up, like Prince of Snakes, to match Tybalt, but after seeing him in that super sexy costume last night, he is now Gabe the Babe, whether he likes it or not!"

"Oh, Mercutio..." sighed Benvolio, shaking his head. Mercutio had made his way over to Verona fountain. Benvolio perched on the edge, letting the water vapour spraying from the pool cool him. Mercutio, of course, ripped off his shirt and trousers, and jumped straight in.

"Mercutio! Get out! Put your clothes back on!"

"Come off it, Bennykins! It's not like I'm naked or anything. I know you're just as hot as I am. So jump in already!"

Benvolio took off his shoes and socks, and rolled up his trousers, so that his feet dangled in the water. He was a lot more self-conscious than Mercutio.

"You're so boring" Mercutio rolled his eyes.

"I'm not boring! I just know when it is appropriate to remove clothing!" protested Benvolio. He looked over the square, and then saw a group of people dressed in tracksuit trousers, grotty polo t-shirts, being led by a blond boy in very short denim shorts, and a white figure hugging vest top as he teetered on red heels.

"Oh no, here come the Capulets" said Benvolio.

"Hey, guess what? I couldn't care less!" shouted Mercutio.

Gabriel turned to the chavs "Follow me closely, I don't want them to attack me again"

Mercutio floated in the water peacefully.

"Mercutio, Benvolio" said Gabriel in greeting.

"Gabe the Babe" responded Mercutio.

Gabriel frowned, but did not make a reply to the irritating nickname "Could I have a word with one of you?"

"Have two. Fuck off. There you go" said Mercutio.

Gabriel frowned even more "I need to find Romeo"

"What for, a dinner date?" scorned Mercutio.

"I already have a girlfriend. As you should know" smirked Gabriel. Benvolio winced. Mercutio sensed his best friend's discomfort, and sat up.

"What do you want, Gabriel? And where's your guard cat Tybalt?"

"None of your business" said Gabriel "This is between Romeo and Tybalt. I do not have any desire to speak with either three of you, but I am such a good friend that I consented to play delivery boy"

"Good friend" gagged Mercutio.

"Whatever. Here comes the person I'm looking for"

Romeo waved across the square, and skipped over happily to join his friends. He stopped upon sight of Tybalt's gang, but then was surprised to see Gabriel was leading them all.

"Romeo" said Gabriel firmly.

"What do you want, Cheap Capulet Rip-off Version Of Mercutio?" asked Romeo. Mercutio roared with laughter and fell back into the fountain.

"Nothing. Tybalt asked me to give you this" Gabriel handed out a postcard. Romeo accepted it.

"What is it?"

"What do you think it is?"

"It's a postcard. From France" said Romeo.

"What does it say? Has he learnt to spell our names yet?" asked Mercutio.

"Apparently not" said Romeo, scanning the postcard.

"Why has he given us this?" asked Mercutio.

Gabriel smiled "Tybalt left for France about an hour ago. Rosaline has gone with him. Sounds romantic, don't you think?"

"He what?"

"Yes, that is correct, Mercutio" said Gabriel "Tybalt has left to go to France, with Rosaline. They shall be staying there for the summer, and shall return the day before Rosaline receives her GCSE results. Which is, I believe, not until the end of August. So I guess you will have no one to annoy all summer, no one to prank call, no one to harass, no one to fight with. Enjoy"

Gabriel got up, the chavs following. Romeo read the postcard.

"It goes like this" Romeo cleared his throat, and then put on an exaggerated Tybalt voice _"Hey, Montergoo loser, guess wot. U is gonna hav a well gud summur cos u ain't gonna be able to anoy me and Ros no more. Just packed my bags for France, and me and Ros are gonna stay their at ma Nanny and Grampy's all summer and u ain't gonna anoy us or nuffin. So I hope u and Mercushyo and Benvollyo hav a well gud time without me to piss off no more and don't ferget ter shove ya head in a bog and flush it. Also hav fun having orgies wiv dat slutty bastard cuzzin of mine called Hurmya. Lots of hate, Tybalt"_

Mercutio looked over at the postcard and shrugged "At least he can spell his own name right"


	63. Star Crossed Lovers

So, we've reached the end of another story. I'm not as happy with this story as I am with the other two, but I guess I can go back and edit.

Big thank you to my reviewers, Dawnstar94, Oreoskidz, iluvshinjimina, Zelda12343, Harley, Emy and Edssessed374. I really appreciate it, it really does help me write.

And yes, I am writing a sequel to ALYN, although I don't know when I will be ready to post the first chapter. I have the Easter holidays coming up soon, so hopefully around about then. I also have a deviantart page, there's a link on my account to that. I post updates about the writing process and pictures of the characters there. If anyone wants to add me on Facebook, private message me. I'm probably going to make a group for the Child Swap series on there anyway, so keep your eyes peeled.

Enough said! Enjoy the last chapter of WL? I hope you like the little twist about Angelo at the end. Also, Vaslav Nijinsky was a famous ballet dancer, and I think he's the sort of person Gabriel would admire. What some of the characters do and say in this chapter will also be included in the next installment, The Students Of Venice.

* * *

><p>Tybalt and Rosaline were out of the way for the summer. That was all the prompting Romeo and Juliet needed. They ran giggling into a small booth in the corner of a quiet cafe, keeping their heads down.<p>

"I feel so naughty" Juliet giggled "This is like a love story!"

"I couldn't ask for a better girl, or a better love story" sighed Romeo "I read poems about this all the time. And now it's my turn"

"This is so much better than anything that ever happened in Twilight!" Juliet eagerly responded.

"Oh my God, my cousin Beatrix is absolutely obsessed with Twilight. You can't get her to shut up about it. And so my cousin, Benvolio, who's her younger twin brother, threw it out the window!"

"Good for Benvolio! He's the one with the braces and specs, right?"

"Yep, that's him"

"Do you all get on?" asked Juliet.

"Yes, we do. Besides the whole Twilight obsession. Me and Benvolio are more like brothers than cousins. His mum died of cancer when he was ten, so my parents helped out my uncle a lot and so I saw him loads and stuff. I'm not so close to Beatrix, but we can get on. What about your family?"

"We have our moments" Juliet rolled her eyes "I'm probably the most popular in my family as I get on with everyone, but there's one of my cousins who I cannot stand. You've met Rosaline, haven't you? She's a complete slut"

It was like a jolt to reality to Romeo "Sure. I've met Rosaline. Trying to put it about, as usual"

"Yeah, that's her. She keeps her fingers in the pockets of all the young rich men of Verona. She's dating my other cousin Tybalt, and just literally controls him. She makes him have a bath even if he doesn't want to. Fair play, Tybalt stinks of unwashed boy most the time, but really? Hermia drew a picture of her holding him on a dog leash"

Romeo snorted.

"They're only together because Tybalt likes Rosaline's jugs and she likes his wallet. Anyway, enough about them. Let's talk about us. What's your favourite pastime?"

"I like writing poems" said Romeo "I read lots of love poetry and I write my own. I think it's romantic"

Juliet's insides melted into a puddle of chocolate "That's so...that's so sweet! Aw! That's adorable. It's so cute to see a guy so in touch with his feelings. I mean, the only other guys I know are people like Paris, who just cares about money and social status"

"Money can't buy love" Romeo shook his head.

"True. Unless you're Rosaline. I should introduce them to each other someday. She'd dump Tybalt in a wink if he was interested in her, and it would get him off my back"

"Why, does he follow you about?"

"No, he just sucks up to me. He says crap about how esteemed my family is, and how great his family is, he just, urgh, he's a pest. And my parents like him, too! Hermia says she'll get rid of him for me, but I don't want her to do anything too rash and get into trouble"

"You two seem really close" said Romeo.

"We are. She was born two weeks after me so we're like twins really. You know her back story, don't you?"

"Yeah, Mercutio told me. That's sad"

"I know. I wish my mum would be nicer to her. It's not her fault my dad had an affair. At least he owned up to it and gave Hermia a life instead of being shoved in foster homes for the rest of her life. I never understood why my mum was so mean to her during my childhood until Tybalt told me she wasn't my real sister"

"What happened?"

Juliet's eyes darted around, and then she bent over to whisper one of the biggest secrets held by the Capulet family.

"I was always told she was my mum's daughter as well, but then we got older, and Rosaline wised up on the maths. She told Tybalt, who then asked his mum. His mum lets him get away with murder, and so she told him. Then Tybalt told me and the rest of my cousins about who she really was. My dad overheard him telling all his friends and telling them to call her 'the bastard,' and was furious at him. People have pretty much wised up about it now, but it's not something we talk about it. Don't repeat it, whatever you do. Hermia doesn't even know her mum's name, so Rosaline said she was going to look it up on the internet and tell her for her birthday in revenge for the DVD thing and for Hermia stealing her boyfriend. Please excuse the dysfunctions of my family"

"That's ok" said Romeo "If I told you some of the stuff about my family, your hair would turn white. My Aunty Isabella is thinking about becoming a nun, Beatrix is a Twilight obsessed freak, and my Uncle Anthony is a two-faced racist who hates Jews for no reason"

"Well, that's a bit mean" Juliet shuddered "Never mind. How did we get onto these morbid conversations?"

"I don't know, I just feel like I can talk to you"

"Me too" smiled Juliet.

The waitress came over, and so they both ordered milkshakes.

"Do you like strawberry?" asked Romeo.

"I love strawberry! I bet you're a chocolate sort of guy, though"

"How did you know?"

"I can just tell" replied Juliet "Perhaps we can share"

They both glanced around at the room again. No one had paid them any heed. They were under the radar.

"It's so quiet without Tybalt. I mean, there have been no fights, and Hermia seems happier" said Juliet.

"That's because he bullies her, isn't it?" said Romeo.

"No. They're both to blame. She winds him up, he reacts. Well, he over-reacts. And he gets mad when she calls Rosaline names. Rosaline has it coming, anyway. She brings out the worst in Tybalt. Whenever they're together, it's a 'get Hermia' mission. Tybalt's not so bad when he's on his own"

"Really?"

"Yeah! He's like my big brother. I know you've only ever seen the worst of him because of the feud, but once you get to know him, he's really loyal and good to have on your side. He's mean to anyone I don't like, and he has a great sense of humour"

"Tybalt has a sense of humour? I should tell Mercutio, it might make him faint"

Juliet snorted, and then their milkshakes were placed in front of them. They both leant over, to suck their straws.

"Nice?" asked Romeo.

"My favourite. Let me taste yours"

"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard!" sang Romeo, sliding his across the table. Juliet sucked the straw.

"Very nice! You try mine"

"Mmm. It's so sweet" said Romeo. They swapped back their milkshakes, and then glanced around the room. Still, no one had paid them any heed, and so they continued talking again.

"So, why do you and Mercutio call each other such daft names? You know, Wooshy-wo, Woo woo, Hermy-wa, and Bennykins? I mean, how does Bennykins even fit?"

Romeo just laughed indulgently "We just do! That's just us, I mean, we're crazy. We love messing around. Mercutio invented them because he found out my mum still packed my lunch for me when I was thirteen, and so he called me 'wittle Womey-wo,' but then it just became Woo woo. Then of course, Hermia needed a nickname, Benvolio needed a nickname, and then me and Benvolio ganged up on him and called him Wooshy-wo"

"Yes, but how does Bennykins fit?"

"I think Wen-wolly-wo sounds pretty stupid, don't you? So he gets to be the odd one out"

"What would I be, Wooly-wet?"

"Probably. I would have to gain the nick-naming permission from Wooshy-wo himself"

"Can't we just ask Hermy-wa?"

"Afraid not. Mercutio's boss. Well. He likes to think he is"

"Of course, of course" smiled Juliet.

Romeo snorted. His glowing opinion of Rosaline had faded, and now he saw what his crush on her really was – a silly teenage crush. She was an unattainable icy cold queen bee, and he'd just wasted time pining for her. He was no better than Beatrix obsessing over Twilight!

Instead, the best thing to do was to look for and appreciate the genuine girls. Romeo smiled at the one in front of him. She was lovely. She was different to all the other girls he'd fancied or tried to date. They hadn't stopped talking in the time they'd been together, and they'd found out heaps about each other. And it was weird looking at the feud from another point of view. As far as Romeo had been concerned, Tybalt was a violent thug who hated everyone. He didn't realise that he meant something to someone.

For the first time in his life, he wished for the feud to end.

* * *

><p>"I'm bored" whined Gabriel.<p>

Angelo just rolled his eyes "Whatever, Gabriel. Hey, I know, why don't you go out with your friends? Oh, wait, you can't. You don't have any"

"Well, you don't seem to have any either, so I guess I must take after my daddy then" Gabriel snipped back.

Angelo ignored his son, and checked his phone. Yesterday afternoon, Rosaline had texted him to say she and Tybalt had landed safely. This morning, she sent an angry text after realising that Tybalt's grandparents lived on a farm. With animals. And their...excrement.

"How's Rosaline enjoying her summer stay on a farm?" giggled Gabriel. Angelo shared a smile with his son.

"Not much. Tybalt took her out for a ride on a tractor this morning and she screamed the whole way round. They're right out in the countryside, there are barely any shops, nowhere for them to go. Oh, and Tybalt's grandparents can't speak Italian and they keep jabbering away at her in French, and she can't understand a word they're saying even though she took it for GCSE!"

"Oh, poor Rosaline" Gabriel clapped lightly "That's just brilliant. She thought they were going to somewhere romantic, like Paris, and they end up on a farm! It's so movie cliché, but so hilarious!"

"That's enough, or I'll send you to join them!" Angelo lightly threatened.

"I wouldn't mind. I like animals. Remember when I asked for the battery chickens and you said no?"

"You already have a horse"

"But the battery chickens need a home and someone to love them after being tortured like that. Please?"

"No!"

Gabriel sighed defeatedly, and his eyes glanced around the cafe, before settling on a couple. The ginger had long ginger hair, sky blue eyes, and a slender, feminine figure. The boy was tanned, had chocolate brown eyes and hair, and a round, boyish face. Gabriel gaped.

That was Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague. And from the looks of things, they were pretty cosy with each other!

"Angelo!" hissed Gabriel excitedly "Hey, Angelo!"

"What?"

"Look! Look over there! Romeo and Juliet are together!"

"Oh, really? I've seen her sister out with him and his cousins before"

"No, together together! See how cosy they are together. Oh my God, oh my God! They're going to kiss! Oh my God, they just kissed!" Gabriel whispered ecstatically.

"Grow up, Gabriel!" Angelo turned and watched them, before turning back to his son "Reminds me of when I was younger. I fell in love with someone I shouldn't"

"Did you? What was her name?" asked Gabriel uninterestedly.

"Wasn't necessarily a she" muttered Angelo.

Gabriel gaped for the second time that day.

"You...you...you're gay?"

"Bi, you fool, otherwise you wouldn't be here, you idiot. And now leave them alone. Before you even think of doing anything like blackmail, or gossiping to your silly friends, I forbid you from causing trouble for them. Just let them be. They aren't hurting anyone"

"You're not even going to tell Rosaline?" asked Gabriel.

"No. It's not her business. Just let them be. Just them enjoy being in love while they can. They look quite cute together, don't you think?"

Gabriel looked again "Yes. Yes, I suppose they do. Do you think they'll last?"

"No idea" Angelo shrugged "None of my relationships have. But I think they deserve that chance to be together, don't you?"

"Yes" Gabriel nodded. He turned back to Angelo "Tell me about your lost love. What broke you up?"

"My parents and his parents disagreed with same-sex relationships. And my school didn't want their precious prefect to be messing around with another guy. This was before I got out the house and began to live my life the way I wanted. I was a few years older than you, sixteen, what, seventeen? When everyone found out, we ran away together for a weekend. That ended in tears"

"Why? You weren't doing anything wrong. And how did they find out?"

"My older brother Iago ratted on me" Angelo sighed "So we ran off when they told us to break up. We stayed in a B&B for a weekend, but we were caught. So we ran away again a few hours later and made a suicide pact so we could be together forever. We took some pills, and passed out. But then I woke up in hospital. My parents told me he'd died, but I survived"

"I'm sorry" murmured Gabriel.

"You know, I wish I hadn't bowed to pressure from adults and other people during my life. I lost someone I cared about, I screwed up the life of my daughters, you hate me-"

"I wouldn't hate you if you weren't such a hypocrite" protested Gabriel "You call me a sissy for dancing!"

"You're a lucky boy, Gabriel. You're very brave. It's amazing how you don't care about what people think about you. It's a shame you won't put that power to use. You could do anything. You could take a degree in philosophy, or a degree in history, maybe even write a book. You'd be a very good politician, you know"

"Yeah, if I had your job, I'd make it illegal to experiment on animals, change the National Anthem to Bad Romance, change the bible to _The Catcher In The Rye_, and make Vaslav Nijinsky the patron saint!"

"You weird boy" sighed Angelo "But just think, if somehow Mercutio became Escalus' heir, that would leave him as Prince of Verona, and I can guarantee that at least half of those things will come true!"

"Well, what do you know" Gabriel smiled "I'd also do something really crazy, like, um, make the Montagues swap kids with the Capulets for two weeks!"

"That's a good idea" mused Angelo "I should give it to Escalus sometime..."


End file.
